The Mind of a Child is Easily Misunderstood
by Tillybananalover
Summary: What if Vincent survived the springlock failures? Would the spirits forgive him? A Fnaf story, rated T, but just barely.
1. Chapter 1

The Mind of a Child is Easily Misunderstood

(Apologies for any problems that may occur, I still haven't figured out how to add a summary, and sorry if this sucks)

Vincent, for perhaps the thousandth time, paused at the doorway. Freddy Fazfu-Fazbears. The source of his nightmares since the springlocks went off. He shouldn't have survived.

But he did.

And now, was re-applying for a job at the infamous, thriving pizza joint.

He put his hand on the handle. Took several deep breaths, and walked in.

The room was full of chattering children, the sound of food or liquid being spilled, the occasional wail of a child when he or she was being scolded for being too loud or too stubborn or too argumentative or too mean or just generally not good enough. The bright daylight shone in from the huge windows that dominated part of the western and northern walls. It was an average day. A beautiful day.

Save for the fact that, though all this joy, the deep mystery shrouded with bloodshed was waiting for him though the "employee's only" door.

Vincent walked quickly over. Not wanting to attract attention. It was as if he was waiting for someone to recognize him somehow, even though he was deemed innocent due to lack of evidence.

"Hey! Vinny!" came Scott's cheerful voice. Vincent flinched at Scott's unexpected voice, carrying clearly over the other voices. Some people turned their heads to look at what was happening, but soon lost interest.

H-Hey Scott" Vincent mumbled. Scott took a pace towards him and gave him a pat on the back. "Nice to have you back! We were running low on night guards." He said. Vincent looked at him fearfully. Night guards were the most dreaded work amongst the employees. Jeremy was the only one that survived a whole week. Barely. Yet, for some unknown reason, Vincent excelled at the job. It was almost as if the animatronics were afraid to touch him. That being said, it didn't mean that he enjoyed the job any more that the next guy in line.

But what choice did he have?

Scott was the only one who was willing to cover for him.

"You know the drill, 12:00-6:00. No slacking or lollygagging or I'll have you fired." Scott continued. Scott would never fire Vincent. He was too valuable. But in any case, the mild threat was little more than a formality anyways. So Vincent accepted that.

"Anyways" Scott babbled "We finally put Toy Foxy back together but you will NOT believe how long it took-"

Vincent was only half paying attention. His mind was miles away. His thoughts too scattered to comprehend what he was saying, wondering if he had made the right choice coming back here. And that was unfortunate. Suddenly, Scott swung a full, roundhouse blow at Vincent, catching him off-guard. Vincent barely had time for a muffled shout before he fell unconscious.

Scott stood over Vincent's body. "Jeremy! C'mere!" Jeremy entered. He had heard the blow and was hesitant at first, but then turned too all-out fear when he saw Vincent out cold. "What…what happened here?!" He said. "Dang, I hate doing that" Scott muttered to himself before answering Jeremy's question. "I hit him; drag him into the security office. Put it on restricted access." "Ye-yeah, sur-r-re" Said Jeremy before doing so.

Scott watched Jeremy for a while before turning away. Truth be told, Scott was a kind and honest person at heart and didn't make violent acts unless forced. And that honesty made him a bit guilty for deceiving Vincent with his fake happy voice. His head was spinning at high speed, trying to plan the next action.

In the end, he just decided to go ahead with what he'd told Vincent.

-Time Skip-12:00-

Vincent woke up groggily to the annoying buzzing of the decades-old light in his office. The faint, indirect light seemed brilliant to his unaccustomed eyes. He winced.

He was sitting upright on a swivel chair. His hands were restrained by retractable straps that allowed movement, yet would instantly retract if it detected sudden movement. The dark corridor and the 2 vents screamed of malice.

On the desk, he saw the tools of trade for an employee: A Freddy mask, a flashlight with a rechargeable, yet cheap battery, a monitor and the fan that didn't have an "off" button. The only new thing here was a video tape labelled "audio only". "The tape was supposed to play at 12" he thought absentmindedly before jerking his head and glancing at his watch.12:01. "Maybe I should listen to the recording, just to while away the hours" he thought before checking the cameras out of habit. Prize corner-clear, Kid's Cove-clear, Show Stage-clear, Main hall-clear. He put his monitor down and for the first time since he was dumped here, started to think. He heard somewhere that, on the first night, all you have to do to survive is to wind up the music box. He put a drop of water on the "wind up music box" icon and played the recorder.

"Hey!" said Scott's voice "uhhh…so…-static-um….I assume you know what to do. You've been here before. I'm confident that you will, uh, survive. We really can't afford any more employees. Um… what was I going to say? Oh ye-static-ah, don't make any sudden movements, the straps, I'm sure you noticed them, will retract. It's just a precaution after what happened…..last t-static-ime…. . You understand that we feel no animosity towards you right? It's just that…..well…..the budget…." Scott trailed off after that, seemingly unsure of himself. Vincent cut the recording off, not caring if he missed something vital.

He didn't want to be bothered tonight. Not tonight when the animatronics are out hunting for his blood. A trifle bit more so than the average secutity guard because he was the one responsible for the animatronics being haunted in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

(Hi! It's me! I just wanted to add a side note to inform all you readers that I will be using human versions of all the animatronics. Also, this story may not follow the timeline, but hey. This is a story about haunted, talking robots, so why not? Enjoy!)

It was almost 6:00

Vincent was sitting, waiting for the clock's chime to signify the end of his shift when he heard Freddy's baritone of a laugh, slightly garbled due to his messed-up voice box. He shot an incredulous glance at the monitor, seeing Freddy's empty eyes, before pulling the mask on, remembering at the last moment to make his movements slow as to avoid the retraction of the restraints. As he did however, Foxy came jumping out of the shadows, surprising Vincent for a split second before he dodged it. Since he was using a swivel chair bolted to the ground, the ploy didn't work. Foxy crashed into him and they both sent the chair spinning. With Foxy trying to gain a vantage point, Vincent struggled desperately against the bonds, trying to throw Foxy off. He kicked him off and sent him hurling across the room. But he didn't fall. Foxy did a backflip before landing on his feet, crouching in the automatic defensive position. This would've been a daunting sight for Vincent had he not taken self-defence lessons from Scott. The easiest way right now for him to survive was to turn the chair away from Foxy while trying to disconnect the straps.

This simple plan worked remarkably well. Vincent was able to get the lock combination right in the heat of the moment and he sprang up. The two of them faced each other, circling slowly. Vincent could read the hate and recognition for who he was and was about to go on the offensive when he felt him self propelled backwards. He saw Toy Bonnie behind him.

Vincent tried to pry himself away from Toy Bonnie, but his grip was like iron. He saw Foxy advancing towards him and kicked his feet from under him. Foxy collapsed and instantly got up again, but that momentary respite was enough for Vincent to wrench himself free from Toy Bonnie's surprised grasp and dove for his flashlight. But when he tried to use it, the light made a _klintk klintk_ sound that told him either someone was moving in the main entrance, or Balloon Boy was in his room. He glanced up and sure enough, there he was, laughing his annoying laugh. _Ahhahaha, ahahaha, ahahaha._ Vincent looked at him, with distaste, and then at Foxy, with horror. Foxy backed Vincent up into a corner, pinning his arms to the wall. At first, he tried the same thing again, to kick Foxy's legs, but it didn't work. He dodged the clumsy attempt and tightened his grip to the point of being painful, telling him to stay still if he valued his life. Vincent read the hidden message, but still stubbornly refused to give up, until Foxy let out a garbled call, forcing him to understanding that he was close to snapping. He allowed is stance to relax. There was no point in agitating Foxy.

Freddy was in the corridor, watching the exchange with interest as well as hatred. After Foxy pinned down Vincent, he stepped in and said, in a surprisingly childish voice, "So, you came back. Didn't think you were still alive after the springlocks went off. As he was speaking, Vincent took in his new body as he answered. Freddy had dark-brown hair, a brown tux, and blue eyes. "Well, I am, and I'm here". He saw Freddy's gaze harden as he took a step towards him. "Foxy, turn him towards me." "Of course" Foxy said in a smooth, mild tone that indicated he was an expert in grace and charm. That dully surprised Vincent, who had expected a rough, pirate-y accent. In fact, Foxy's pirate accent, which was assumed to be his natural accent, actually came from years of practice. Foxy turned Vincent towards Freddy, arms behind his back.

Vincent glared at Freddy. Freddy merely raised an eyebrow and gestured to the swivel chair. The unspoken message was clear to both Vincent and Foxy. Soon, Vincent found himself, rebound, on the chair. For one, wild moment, Vincent considered if he should go on the offensive again, but decided against it. That would be stupid. "Go get Bonnie and Chica" Said Freddy to the Toy, bunny animatronic. "Sure" He said in a metallic voice before strolling away into the darkened corridor. Toy Bonnie was programmed not to run unless in case of an emergency.

Toy Bonnie strolled to the Parts and Services room and said in a perfectly normal voice as if nothing had happened, "Freddy wants to see you". Chica, her severed jaw hanging, and Bonnie, faceless, couldn't answer, so Toy Bonnie just stood there, waiting for a response, his eyes looking straight ahead. Bonnie and Chica slowly got up, which was quite painful since their systems didn't function well. Bonnie had to help Chica up (both her arms had been severed) and together, they left Toy Bonnie and went to the office.

They arrived in the darkened corridor. Bonnie's red eyes had been the first indication that someone was approaching. But soon, it was obvious, with Chica's short, yellow puffy dress and Bonnie's bartender suit. The pair soon saw who the security guard was and dropped the robot act. "Why is he here?!" Shrieked Chica , her voice sounding girly and furious. Bonnie, sort of an older brother to Chica, laid an hand on Chica's shoulder (or rather, what remained of it) and said, in a calm voice, "lets see what Freddy has to say before you do anything else" He saw reason return to Chica's eyes and her stance relax before letting go.

"So Vincent, ready to tell us why you did it?" said Freddy, his method of approach signifying that he already had a conversation with him. Vincent drew a sharp breath and said, in a voice that totally didn't match his expression. "Because it was…"

At that moment, the clock chimed 6:00. Vincent heaved a giant, shuddering breath of relief as he saw the malice fade from the animatronics' eyes as they wandered back to where they started before all this had happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter3-Jeremy and Vincent's night shift

"Jeremy? Can you come over here for a sec?" called Scott from the other side of the room.

Jeremy sighed and went over. The day had been a slow one; it was the middle of the week. All the kids were at school and it was only 2. Jeremy was hoping to relax a bit before preparing for the dinner rush. But, at a place like Freddy's Pizzeria, there was always work to be done, especially with the shortage of workers. Right now, there was only was only 2 other employees, Lilly and Charlie. "Coming, hold on…" said Jeremy as he got up from his sitting position.

"Listen Jeremy, can you do the night shift with Vincent today?" asked Scott. Jeremy wasn't sure if he had heard right. "The…..night shift? Why?! What happened to Vincent this time?" said Jeremy, a trifle bit angry at Vincent for doing something stupid again and forcing him into this situation. "Uh…..he…..the animatronics got into his office and hurt him. His arm has bruises all over and he also had some…..head damages" He didn't feel like it was necessary to say that the "damages" had come from him being attacked by Foxy. "Oh….." said Jeremy, a little ashamed that he had jumped to such conclusions. "So can you?" said Scott, still waiting for an answer. "Uh…..I'm not sure, can't Vincent just do it himself? You know what the night shift is like, you've experienced it first hand!" said Jeremy, his voice rising in volume. "C'mon Jerme!" You were more experienced at it than I was! Besides, you won't be alone. Ask Vincent for tips." "But…..uh…..erm….." said Jeremy, at a loss for words. Scott saw as this as an opportunity and emphasized the point with a very agreeable point. "You won't actually be in danger as much as Vincent; you'll be off-center. Any direct attack won't be aimed at you, it would be at Vincent, and besides, all you have to do is keep an eye on the monitor. You'll be paid double..." Jeremy still hesitated, but was convinced. "O….okay" said Jeremy.

11：50

Jeremy looked at the door when he heard a car outside. He saw Vincent through the frosted glass. He did look bad, but his eyes widened when he saw him through the door. His head had a long bandage on one side, blood seeping out at some points; his arm was obviously causing him pain. But the most shocking part was his expression. His expression was determined, and not at all aftraid. Perhaps I was wrong about him, thought Jeremy.

"Alright, do you still remember the basics? Flashlight, mask….." Jeremy cut him off "I know everything, I'm not new. Vincent looked worried about Jeremy, which puzzled him. Vincent was in worse condition than he was, and he was in more danger, so why was he worried? It was…..it was so _un-_ Vincent. This was not the cruel, dangerous and creepy Vincent he had thought he was. "Oi! Jeremy! Pay attention! This isn't just about the extra pay that Scott promised you! This is basic survival 101!" Snapped Vincent, obviously irritated at his distracted attitude. "Eh Oh sor….." said Jeremy, but was cut off when Vincent said, exasperated " **Jeremy!** When you are about to be stuffed by a glitched robot, you don't say "sorry" when you accidentally bump into them!" Jeremy flinched a bit at that, but nodded nonetheless.

12:00

"Alright, you're good to go!" said Scott, the comment meant for Jeremy more than Vincent. Scott was finished setting a new lock and tightening the restraints on Vincent. Vincent hissed at the rough treatment but accepted it philosophically. Jeremy eyed the restraints warily; it did make him feel safer, but also doubtful. Scott was a gentle person and for him to see fit to restrain Vincent like that spoke volumes of his skepticalism, skepticalism for how long Vincent would remain sane before doing something illegal. Vincent caught him looking with a bemused expression "it's not you that tied up here, what are you worried about?" Jeremy scowled at him after Scott left. He knew full well what he was afraid of. "So, I can see _several problems_ with this arrangement, can you fix them?" Jeremy attempted to make his voice sound sarcastic like Vincent, but, being a Jeremy, it didn't come off right. Vincent thought for a while before answering "The shortage of flashlights won't be a problem, use your phone. If it runs out of batteries, that's your fault. The freddy mask you can use, I'll pretend to be an endo." But won't the animatronics stuff you?" asked Jeremy, in a tone that betrayed his worry. "No, they won't" said Vincent said enigmatically. Jeremy looked at him, sensing that there was something he wasn't being told, but didn't feel like asking, not tonight.

The clock rang. It was 12.

"V-Vincent! Mangle is in the vent!" shrieked Jeremy. Vincent winced slightly at the loud voice (as he was sitting beside him) and gave him a withering look. "I'm not blind, I can see that, put on your mask, I'll handle the rest" Jeremy needed no farther prompting. He put on the mask. The sound of heavy breathing was clearly audible to any passerby had the walls not been soundproof. Vincent ignored the sound and waited patiently for Mangle and Foxy, Foxy and his girlfriend.

Mangle crawled out of the vents and swing up to the ceiling, her favorite perch. She had metallic, curly pigtails and a pink outfit covering her top half, the lower half had been long lost. She also had a short pink, black and white skirt that unsuccessfully covered her waist damages. Her second head, she called Lolbit, was watching Jeremy, looking for the first sign that he wasn't an animatronic. "Foxy?" called Vincent. He looked down the corridor, seeking a glimpse of his crimson hair, or the captain's clothes that he always wore. Foxy did not respond. But Freddy did. "Why is Jeremy here?" he said in his deep, slightly messed-up voice. Vincent glanced sideways at Jeremy before answering "I _accidentally_ hurt myself during work, so Jeremy is _helping_ me. Freddy's eyes narrowed at the tone and Vincent made a mental note to watch the comments. In truth, he was a little scared of Freddy. If he had to rank Freddy in the scare-o-meter, he would place him second. Number one would be the puppet, and the third one would be Foxy. "Jeremy, music box" said Vincent out of the corner of his mouth as he thought of puppet. Jeremy looked at the monitor and hastily wound up the music box. "So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Vincent, remembering the conversation from last time when Freddy was about to ask him a question, but was cut off by the 6:00 am bell. "Why, that's what I want to know" said Freddy. Vincent looked at him stolidly before replying "that I cannot answer" Freddy drew in a breath to insist when Mangle interrupted. "hhooww ddiidd yyoouu ssuurrvviivvee bbeeiinngg aattaacckkeedd bbyy Foxy?" said Mangle in a voice that sounded like wind chimes, pulsing and vibrating in the air. "I…..uh…..I took self defense lessons when I was small, I had to teach myself after about 2 months because the orphanage discontinued my lessons. It wasn't exactly a five star hotel y'know" said Vincent, caught off guard by her unexpected question. "How did you k-k-k-k-know that we we-e-e-e-re sentient?" asked Bonnie. "Vincent snapped his head around to see faceless Bonnie standing beside him, his red, laser eyes looking at him. He hadn't noticed him enter the office. He flinched but answered "because I saw that your eyes where different colors. Yours were blue, but Bonnie's were purple." Bonnie looked at him with surprise, he always thought that Vincent was too set to notice such things "Thank you" said Bonnie before he could stop himself. Freddy, Mangle and Foxy looked at him with surprise. Bonnie shrugged guiltily.

Vincent checked his watch, it was 3:00.

Then he heard a sound that made him glance angrily at Jeremy for neglecting the one task that he had. Winding up the music box"

 _D_ _a da,_ _da da, da di de di da, do da, da da dii da, do da, da da, da di de di da, ding, dong dung ding dong._

Next chapter: The puppet master and the puppet.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Jeremy!" Vincent stormed at him, his eyes glaring daggers. Jeremy cringed away, knowing it was his fault. Freddy sighed, Bonnie smirked and Mangle seemed happy.

Vincent was horrified.

The dark corridor slowly admitted a stringless puppet. Eyes empty except for the white dot in the middle. Vincent saw him advance, a sheen of sweat breaking out. "You-u" said the puppet, a strange echo following the words. "You-u were-e the-e one-e that-t did-d this-s to-o us-s, how-w could-d you-u hurt-t these-e children-n?" accused the puppet. Vincent didn't know how to explain. The puppet mistook his silence for hesitation. His eyes glowed more until they were so bright that the other animatronics and Jeremy had to turn away, hands shielding their eyes. But Vincent seemed entranced in the eyes. Mesmerized. "Tell-l me-e what-t happened-d, what-t made-e you-u change-e" the puppet said, every word said with exceptional care. "It was after I was chased into the suit" said Vincent, unable to lie, "The beams did cause a lot of damage, but it missed my head, sort of. The beams damaged the brain, frontal lobe, and I lost my ability to… anyways, the sane part of myself was lost, so I had to get an chip implanted into my brain to substitute for the lost emotions," "B-b-b-b-b-b-ut t-t-t-hat would m-m-m-m-mean..." said Bonnie, coming to a conclusion "Yes, Bonnie, this isn't the real Vincent, the real Vincent is the one you know, the one that….. , anyways, this means that I'm more robot. My eyes can glow, my voice box is weird, I have to charge myself at night and….." But at that moment, Vincent started to struggle against the puppet's memorization, trying to break free. The puppet let him loose, he got what he wanted. Vincent's eyes went back to normal and stared horrified at him, and at what he done. "So, now you know….." said Vincent, his voice shaky and weak, taking several deep breaths. Then the puppet said something slightly off topic but still unexpected. "sing a song," Vincent looked at him, puzzled but, reluctantly, opened his mouth by a sliver, Not moving, his eyes tuning black but glowing at the same time, just like Freddy.

 _D_ _ong di, do do dung do, ding dung do, do do ding_ _du du ding dong, ding dong dong, dang, dingy-a-dong-ding-duh-di-do dun do"_

Vincent finished and his eyes gradually returned to normal. He stared at puppet as if a half-robot former night guard who was mentally unstable that could sing without moving his mouth was perfectly normal. The song was sung beautifully y, no voice cracks, no breaks and in harmony with the music box. The puppet was surprised at the tone that he produced and started to feel a little regretful at the fact that Vincent, who could've been such a successful person, had become so twisted. Vincent sensed the puppets emotions and reached over awkwardly to comfort him. Freddy growled at this but made no movements otherwise. Vincent felt like now was the time to tell him the secret that he had been waiting to say, but with no opportunity. He leaned over and whispered;

"Your name was Mark"

Suddenly, the puppet started to float, he felt lighter until he could pull away from the animatronic body and be his own. He wrenched himself from the suit that for too long had been his only home. He looked at himself in shock. Then with delight as he felt his movements become fluid and painless once again before all this had happened. Yet, through all the joy, he had not forgotten the kids that he had taken into his care long ago. He looked at the other's dumbfounded gaze and felt his own happiness falter. "What will happen to the rest?" asked the puppet. Vincent shrugged. "I dunno, I remembered your name and you became free, should work the same with the others, but I don't remember theirs, perhaps in time" The puppet looked at him. Then said "Vincent, welcome to the family."

(Hi! It's me! Sorry for the short chapter, I've been a little distracted with the upcoming tests, anyways, guess what?! Chapter 75 came out on A little too far! Squeeeeee! Anybanananas, I will edit this chapter to make it longer, so you may see additional content after this message, and feel free to use this idea and post alternate chapters of your own!

-Bananalover)

The other animatronics stared at the puppet with disbelief, this man, the one that had taken so much from them, was now part of the family. They did trust the puppets decisions, but this was not simply a rash decision, this may well cost them their real family. Vincent _tsked_ and turned away, he didn't want to be part of their family. He didn't want to cost them more pain, though his other self would almost certainly disagree. Freddy turned a furious gaze at him; he didn't like this idea more than anyone else. Only Mangle remained uncommitted, merely accepting what was to be decided. The puppet walked over, shorter now that he was back to normal and had to tilt his head up in order to look him in the eye. "This is not your decision," he said, his voice unnaturally cold and unrelenting. Bonnie put a wire on the puppet. "This is a very big choice, and it is wrong" she said with his usual disregard for proper grammar "even if you were to decide this, we will not accepting him as one of us." "He is an outsider, exiled from society and from us. We will not abide by your decisions. Not this time." The puppet glared at him and was about to use his memorization powers, when he shot a glance at Vincent, looking for confirmation. Vincent shook his head ever so slightly and mouthed the word "no". The puppet's eyes returned to their hollow blackness. "Ill leave this decision to you" said the puppet before floating away into him music box, taking his animatronics body with him. As soon as he was gone, Vincent and Freddy turned to each other and said, simultaneously, "You know I don't want you, you are not family, and will never be." Freddy looked back and said to Bonnie, "Bonnie, take you sister away, she can't handle this." Bonnie nodded his head in acknowledgement and took Chica in his remaining before leading her away through the vents.

As soon as they were gone, the clock struck 6:00.

Time to go home

Jeremy nudged Vincent slightly to remind him of his presence. Vincent look at him in surprise, he had forgotten he was there. "Sorry that you had to see that" he said, his tone low. Jeremy seemed less surprised that he should've been, but he had also experienced this first hand, and knew there was something wrong. Still, the confrontation had shocked him. Vincent raised an eyebrow "So? Do you want to go home or do you want to stay for day shift too." He said sarcastically. Jeremy got up shakily and un-restrained Vincent.

"oh, you survived, congrats!" said Scott, in his trademark happy tone. Vincent rolled his eyes and gave him a ghost of a smile. Then he yawned "I'm going home, have fun Jereme." He tossed over his shoulder.

When Vincent got home, the first thing he did was collapse on his bed, burying his face in the sheets. When he remembered that he still had things to, he groaned and rolled over, night shift had taken a lot from him.

Then he saw the Mark.

(That's all for now, the next chapter may be in a different style than the way I normally write in. Just a heads up!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(This chapter happened to more comedy and sci-fi, also, Vincent's personality has changed. He is more of a shy, pushover and kind person. Tell me which writing style you prefer)

Vincent's jaw would've dropped to the ground it could. "Mark…..what are you doing in my house? Why aren't you at home?" Mark smiled, a bit ruefully. "Can't I stay the night at your place? The music doesn't play by day". "Uh…..sure. Do the others know?" Mark smiled again, this time enigmatically. "Yeah, they were happy that I go a day off after so long" "Oh." said Vincent, surprised. He had thought that the others would be mad at him for leaving and spending time with physo extraordinaire. "So, can I help you around?" asked Mark. Vincent gave him a look that looked like this; 0-u？ "Mark, you're not even physical. You can't interact with objects." Mark grinned cheekily "Yah I can, I just need a suit, and you still have one right?" "Still? No, I brought in a suit for cleaning a few days ago, but that's all. I doubt you would want to use it." Mark perked up. "Ill use it" Vincent shrugged and went to fetch it. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said over his shoulder.

Vincent grunted as he got the suit. "Here –gasp- it –gasp- is," said Vincent between deep breaths. Marks eyes became as big as saucer plates when he saw which one it was.

It was the spring bonnie suit.

"I thought you got rid of it already!" said Mark, his voice breaking with disbelief at Vincent's apparent lack of common sense. Vincent shook his head. "Can't, its company property." Mark continued staring incredulously. " _Company_ _property?!_ _"_ he practically screeched "COMPANY PROPERTY?! Vincent, are you listening to yourself here? This is the very thing that brought your almost demise! How could you stand it?! Get rid of it! I can't have it here bringing you pain because I care about you! You're under my care dammit! You can't do this to yourself!" Vincent actually staggered a pace at the enormity of his words. He may be a child but he had 30 years of experience." (Just a side note here, the only reason Vincent hasn't aged yet was because he has robotic parts that prevent him from doing so) "That may be so, but you're also under **my** care, no one touches you, no one **can** touch you. I will protect you, even if I lose control" said Vincent in a low, soothing voice, pulling him into his embrace. Mark sighed irritably at his ignorance, but allowed himself to go along. Drinking in what it was like to be loved, cared and protected once again, the type of affection that only a guardian can give. With a start of surprise, Mark realized that he had begun to think of Vincent as a surrogate guardian. Vincent himself, however, was not aware of this, but did promise to recreate the familial love that existed between Mark and the animatronics. Vincent started humming a lullaby, the same one that he sang to himself when he was having trouble falling asleep at night. Mark's eyes dropped in spite of the fact that it was day. Vincent laid him down on his bed before making breakfast.

6:30

"Mark? Come and get it." called Vincent, forgetting that he was asleep. He swore to himself. Mark came floating down and plopped down to a table. "I didn't know what you would eat, how does carbon dioxide sound?" Mark, surprising himself, said "It's been so long that I forgot, but, yeah!" Vincent smiled before giving him a round-cylindrical object with compressed air. Mark took a tentative sip, found that he liked and took a large gulp. Vincent waited until he was done before getting up and going to attic. Mark watched curiously as he left. He sensed that Vincent didn't want him there, but after a while, temptation proved too much and, as quietly as possible, (which was very quiet considering the fact that he wasn't even real,) went up the same way he saw Vincent go.

The attic was a surprisingly well-ventilated place. The sun shone from a single window towards the east, and created the illusion of a spacious place despite the fact that it was crammed full with European-style furniture, mahogany tables and indirect ceiling lights placed at irregular intervals. Sort of like a library. Marks eyes widened as he saw Vincent moving around, carrying a few containers,talking to himself and taking notes on a clipboard. He watched as he organized a few jars. He caught sight of some of the labels. _Water Vapor-20%, Carbon Dioxide-90%, Heat-10%, Helium-50%_ Mark didn't know what most of these were except carbon dioxide which he heard mentioned when a high-school-er took her homework with her and started mumbling nonsense in party room #2. He let his eyes wander and found out that most of the shelves were empty. Vincent grabbed a pair of keys and put the rest of the bottles back before turning around. Mark stiffened when he saw that Vincent was going to see him, but luckily for him, Vincent paused halfway and put a few potted plants in the sunlight. He took this opportunity to sprint down the stairs and into the living room. He heard the turning of a lock and saw Vincent come down, seeming oblivious to what had happened. Mark felt a little guilty at deceiving an essentially honest person, it was just so easy. Vincent looked at him oddly before going downstairs.

As soon as he was gone. Mark raced up to the attic; the locked door did not stop him, and appeared inside. As soon as his back was secured, he went to the shelf that Vincent put the bottles on, eager to explore. The bottles were made of semi-lightweight metal and were labeled in elegant calligraphy script. Mark smirked at his, bit of an out-of-character touch for a former-maniac on the loose. Laminated to the shelf was the periodic table. He wandered over to the window next, peering at Vincent's plants. He half-expected a mutated- plant that had huge jaws and eyes, bit overdramatic, but not 100% unexpected for Vincent.

The plants were on the window ledge, the pots were the classic brick color. Venus flytraps, sundews, mostly carnivores plants, not exactly normal, but tolerated. Mark explored some more, but there was nothing else to see except for the empty shelves.

Mark left the attic untouched just in time to see Vincent slip something in a drawer.

The tool that he used to mess with the animatronics so many years ago.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Mark's eyes bulged. He had trusted Vincent, absolutely. He felt like a fool for doing so. He had thought Vincent had really changed even though this wasn't, technically, the real Vincent. Mark turned around, his face a mask of betrayal. Fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall, he turned around and silently went back to Vincent's room.

11：30

"Mark? C'mon, let's go. I want to get my shift over as soon as possible. You have to go back to the puppet. I brought the can of Febreze that you asked for, don't know what you want with it, but whatever. Oi! Are you listening?" said Vincent, a trifle irritated at Mark for making him repeat. "Eh? Oh yea, sure" said Mark, not fully attentive. Vincent sighed, wondering what was bothering Mark. He grabbed the keys to the car and front door before locking it and getting in. Mark ignored the locked door and floated through it and plopped into the car.

Mark stayed silent for most of the ride. Vincent was concentrating on the road, trying not to spin or drift accidentally due to the heavy thunderstorm. Mark barely noticed it.

"Okay, out with it, what's bothering you?" said Vincent as soon as they hurried in through the back door. Mark stared at him, uncomprehending until Vincent was forced to elaborate. He was in a bad mood. Some of the water had managed to get into his eyes and were making then do weird stuff. He couldn't focus on specific spots and the edges of his vision were clouded by glitch-y parts. It would take days for it to dry properly and fix. "I'm sorry, what?" replied Mark, his tone slightly flustered. Whatever was the reply.

"Vincent, you're here early," said Scott in his normal, cheerful tone, breaking through the veil of melancholy surrounding Vincent. Vincent tried, and failed, to return the smile. It didn't work the same as Scott's smile. Unlike Scott, Vincent had an aura of mystique and menace surrounding him, making people avoid him involuntarily. Mark and Scott didn't have that effect on people. "Yea, I'm ready, lets go," said Vincent before leading the way towards the office. Scott put a hand on his shoulder and turned him towards him. He turned around. Scott drew in a deep breath before saying "We…..we need to discuss something. It concerns the animatronics. We know that you have become…..attached to them to put it mildly." Vincent fought back an urge to gag at this "So we've decided to ask you if you want the older ones to be scrapped. We would appreciate the money, and the extra space. We were thinking of replacing the new ones again, in case they malfunction like the old ones did." Vincent answered immediately "no, keep these ones, they're ok. They've caused no trouble for me." Scott led him into a back room before replying, "I want the real Vincent's opinion. Vincent hesitated at this, knowing his other self, he was certain that he would want all the evidence erased and the animatronics scrapped. "Am I not Vincent?" he said, trying to cajole him into staying away from his other self. Scott shrugged apologetically before using the _tool_ , as the animatronics called it, and resetting Vincent's system, letting the backup files (a.k.a. the alter-evil-er-Vincent) take over. Vincent's eyes went midnight black before he fell unconscious.

When he woke up again, he was a different person. His eyes took on a sinister tone, amethyst purple. His stance changed, from an uncertain slouch to a confident, straight-backed position. Even his expression and cloths seemed to be darker. He smiled, showing his perfect teeth. "Why did you want to see me?" he said in a silky voice, dripping with sugar and venom. Scott gulped slightly before replying. Truth be told, he was terrified of this Vincent. The other Vincent, though slightly too kind for his own good, was at least safe to be around. This one was a different person entirely. "What do you think?" he said, slightly hurriedly, continuing right from where he left off from the conversation. Vincent chuckled darkly. "What do I think? Why don't you ask poor little Vincent 2.0'opinions?"

While they were having this rather messed-up conversation, Mark was standing outside. Listing. He wasn't technically supposed to be here, but, having the natural curiosity of a 8-year-old, promptly ignored that _minor_ fact and snuck over to eavesdrop. His breath halted when he heard the moment of truth approaching. The other Vincent would've done everything in his power to help them, but this wasn't that Vincent. Mark gulped as he was sure that the scrap-yard was next in line for them. He was so distracted with his thoughts that he almost missed Scott's words. "You're the original Vincent; I have to ask _you,_ the other one is merely a stand-in when you're offline." Vincent tilted his head back and smirked, "interesting way of putting it, though I suppose you're right. Very well, I think-"Mark closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable, thinking of how to get his friends out before all this- "-that you should keep them" said Vincent. Mark's and Scott's dumfounded expression would've been a sight worth seeing. "Excuse me?" said Scott, not sure if he had heard correctly. Vincent's head tipped back into place to meet his eyes. "Yes, you heard me. I said keep 'em." Scott was going to argue more, but seeing the expression on Vincent's face, decided that it would be a bad move. "I'd like to leave now, if you don't mind" said Vincent, reminding him that his shift was about to start. Scott looked at him, trying one last time to detect any mockery or deceit in his words before nodding and restarting his system. "Oh, and one last thing," said Vincent. Scott turned towards him as his eyes began to darken again. "Take good care of them, won't you? They mean so much to me". His eyes darkened, and fell unconscious.

Scott stood there for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Vincent gradually woke up, head hurting from handing control to his alter self. "Sorry, I didn't scare you did I?" "N-n-no, not really" stammered Scott, still shook by his recent conversation. Vincent raised one eyebrow, not convinced before heading to the office.

Mark saw him coming and quickely darted away, just before Vincent opened the door. He looked around suspiciously before walking away. Mark heaved a sigh of relif when he realized that he hadn't seen him.

"Mark? C'mon, go back into the puppet. You're more suited in being a marionette than a wandering child." Mark sighed, but obediently went back into the musty-smelling box, his form shimmering in the air before gradually flickering back in. Vincent, satisfied that Mark was in his physical body, turned and went away.

"Mark! We missed you!" shrieked Chica excitedly. Mark rolled his eyes and went to greet them, a ridiculous smile on his face. "Mark's back?!" said Freddy, the careful aura of aloofness forgotten as he went to crush him in a _bear-_ hug. (Get it?) Mark groaned at this but was nonetheless delighted. "Welcome back to Freddy Fazbear's restaurant, we hope you have a good time here." said Toy Bonnie automatically. Mark paid him no attention as he was farther swarmed with company in the form of Bonnie and Foxy. "Welcome-e back!" said Bonnie in his gentle tone. "Aw, bonbon, did you take good care of Chica while I was away?" asked Mark, knowing the answer. Bonnie smiled sweetly before answering "of course". "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, stand still." said Mark, holding out the can of Febreze. Bonnie eyed it puzzlingly before being sprayed with "Happy Spring". When the mini cloud dispersed, Bonnie's suit was sparking like some cliché from a kid's show. "There!" said Mark, pleased with his handy work. "Now Scott can't complain abut the smell anymore. "Me next!" shrieked Chica her high-pitched voice. Mark grinned before shaking the can and spraying it on her too. "Wee!" said Chica as she sparkled too, like Bonnie, her puffy dress looking better than it had been. "Chica!, I just finished ironing your cloths! Don't make me do it again" complained Bonnie as he went and put an arm around Chica. She smiled cheekily before replying; "so?". Bonnie groaned as he would have to face weeks of laundry after this. Vincent sat in his swivel chair, hoping that the animatronics would forget to restrain him. The straps weren't adjustable and were actually quite painful. But Bonnie noticed and walked over, gesturing for him to place his hands on either side of him. He complied and watched as his unusually gentle and swift hands undo and tighten the straps, his eyes cast down, intent on his work, treating Vincent more like a family member than an infiltrator. Vincent felt a warm glow at this. "One more favor?" said Vincent, in a carefully, neutral tone. Bonnie looked at him, his eyes (or rather, what was left of them) saying that he would honestly consider granting it. "You've worked with robots for years; can you tell me how to fix a broken eyepiece?" Bonnie extended his hand for the eye(s). Vincent carefully removed them, wincing slightly as jabbed not-so-gently on the roof of his eyes. The sight was very disconcerting. 2 white dots glaring out from a mass of darkness. The animatronics seemed to be unbothered by it due to the fact that Bonnie was faceless all the time and that Chica had no arms.

The eyes were soaked, but fixable in the form of a hairdryer. Within minuets, what would've taken Vincent hours to fix was done and ready to go. Bonnie handed him the pair of eyes and he popped them in, blinking at the new, sharper sight.

Vincent suddenly flinched violently. Everyone looked at him. He turned to Freddy, which was strange as it was Bonnie who fixed his eyes. He said, in a tone that totally went against Vincent's nature "Your name was Alexis"

Freddy's eyes began to glow, but not in the usual form of dark black and white, but rather in the way a developing photo might act. Gradually fading into a picture, or in Freddy's case, fading into fog. His body began to feel lighter. He felt it until he could wretch himself from the suit. His other, real self had dark hair and was also wearing a tux. He looked unbearably cute in his grown-up clothes. Alexis looked at himself in delight, similar to the way Mark felt. His movements became painless and fluid. He floated around the room, laughing. The other's looked at him, smiling also. Freddy looked at Vincent.

He smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Hurry up if you're coming, I want to get out as soon as possible" called Vincent tiredly. Mark smiled sheepishly before saying goodbye to his friends and unhooking Vincent from the chair. "Alexis? Do you want to come?" "Can I?!" asked Alexis excitedly. Vincent was less than happy with the idea of Freddy coming into his house, but he didn't want Mark to be disappointed incase he thought any less of him, if that was even possible. He sighed, resigned as he heard Mark and Alexis chatting away excitedly. There was no changing his mind now. Vincent was about to leave when he saw Scott approaching him, a slightly guilty smile playing on his face. Vincent's eyes rolled towards the ceiling as he came to the conclusion in the form of a favor. "What is it?" he asked in a what-is-it-this-time tone. Scott grinned guilty as he saw how easily his intentions had been detected. "Actually, I was wondering if you could take day shift for me, I would usually call Lilly or Charlie to fill in for me, but they're out of town right now. So….." Scott let his sentence trail off, waiting for an answer. The smirk fell of Vincent's face and hit the ground. "What? I…..I can't! I have kids to take care of at home!" He blurted out without thinking. Scott looked at him with an odd expression. "Kids? You're married Vincent? Why didn't you tell?" Vincent paused momentarily, at a loss for words. "I…..I adopted them, sort of. One is 8, another is 7." He stammered, hoping to convince that he was still sane. Scott looked at him skeptically before turning away suspiciously. Vincent kept a fake smile on before exhaling in an explosive breath. "Nice going, real smooth." Said Mark in weird tone that sounded like mockery and distain at the same time. Vincent didn't know if to be relived that he wasn't mad at him for almost spilling the beans or to be offended that he had just insulted his intelligence. His Iq is!….. Well, it wouldn't really count as he was partially artificial intelligence. In any case, it was little more than a snipe comment anyways and not intended for any offense.

"So this is where you live? Didn't expect that" said Alexis. They were on the front steps of Vincent's house, a really…..normal looking house. The type that would blend in with any other house on the street. "What were you expecting?" asked Vincent, knowing more or less the answer. "Well, a black house with rusted chains dangling from the ceiling, a blood-written _keep out_ sign, a black cat or owl meowing or hooting in the distance, or at least a dingy-er, less welcoming place." replied Alexis. Vincent snorted with laughter. Mark coughed slightly, remembering that he had a similar though when he first arrived. "Alexis, what made you think that?' asked Vincent, still trying to hold back the laughter. "We experienced what deeds you are capable of firsthand remember?" replied Alexis, his eyes taking a faraway and slightly nostalgic tone. Vincent's laughter vanished, making the pre-dawn air dark and still, devoid of camaraderie. Mark looked for any distraction to take their minds of the awkward exchange. He scanned the sky for inspiration, a star. "Vinny, look, a star, I thought all of them would've been gone by now, in the morning lights." Vincent looked up, so did Alexis. "Hm, never noticed" chorused Vincent and Alexis. They turned to look at each other, surprised. Mark smiled and looked back up, the star in the sky, shimmering, like a distant, silent promise somewhere faraway.

"Mark, can Alexis use your room for today? The other guest rooms are…..unavailable right now" Mark's eyes narrowed at the hesitant tone that Vincent had spoken in while mentioning the room. Alexis seemed to sense it too, but discarded the thought; instead, he had some questions he wanted answered. He went to Vincent who was sifting through drawers, trying to find something, and said, "Vincent, answer a few question for me please?" "What do you want to know?" replied Vincent offhandedly, still fumbling in his drawer. "Well…..how come you never sleep?" he asked, curious. Vincent paused momentarily to gather his thoughts, then continued looking for whatever was in the drawer, saying "I do need to sleep, but I can't dream" "What does Mark eat?" "Mostly carbon dioxide, I try to keep him away from helium, he might get hyper if he eats that" "Does anyone know you're only half-human?" "Only Scott, Jere-bear, Lilly, Charlie and you guys." "If all of us were to get our names back, what will happen to us?" Vincent stopped sifting and looked at him in a strange way. "Depends" "What do you mean _depends?_ _"_ "If you want to be free, all you have to do is to…..is to….." Vincent let his sentence trail off, then started again, "All of you would be able to live you're lives as semi-normal, spirit-y kids" Alexis's face fell, saying "we can't even be semi-normal; no one else can see us." That was news to Vincent. "I can see you" Alexis looked at him. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about that; how _can_ you see us?" "Dunno" was the reply.

"It's going to be like a sleepover! C'mon Alex! Stop being a stick in the mud!" said Mark, jumping on the new bunk that Vincent got for him after he told him he might be visiting more than often. "I…..I dunno about this. I still don't trust him" "C'mon! I was a puppet master for years! I have practiced in the _ **art of manipulation**_ and I can control him, don't forget that he's also a robot like who we used to be." Alexis stared at Mark. That phrase sounded slightly off coming from Mark, too mature and too dark. Then Mark's eyes started glowing. Alexis backed off slightly. Mark had described Vincent's transformation in the back room and he felt the same aura that Vincent had given out when he was in the back room. "Mark, get a hold of yourself!" said Alexis in a nervous tone. Mark turned towards him. "Manipulation is an art, manipulation is my art" Then his eyes started to glow too brightly, blinding Alexis. "Vincent!" screamed Alexis, sensing that something wasn't right. Vincent came rushing upstairs, hearing Alexis's scream. He saw Mark and immediately tackled him, clamping his hand over one of his eyes. Mark growled and tried to throw him off, but Vincent was stronger and kept his face down onto the carpet. "Alexis!" shouted Vincent, still struggling with Mark, "help me! Hold him down!" Alexis, galvanized into action, went and sat on him, his hands clapped over his other eye. Vincent kept whispering "gain control, gain control, gain control, gain control….." Eventually, Mark slumped unconscious. Vincent laid him down gently. "W-w- **WHAT WAS THAT?!** " said Alexis in a completely bewildered tone, not believing what had just happened even though he had seen it with his own eyes. Vincent turned towards him. "What did he say right before this happened?" Alexis thought for a moment before saying, in a hesitant tone as if he wasn't sure of it himself, "he said something along the lines of _practiced in the art of manipulation and I can control him._ " Vincent frowned at the words _art of_ _manipulation_ _._ "That's his phrase". "What?" asked Alexis, completely lost in the conversation. "It means that whenever he says the phrase _art of manipulation,_ he goes completely out of control." He explained "It's because of the connection between his spirit self and his physical self. When he said _art of manipulation,_ it connects closely to his role in the pizzeria and, because he is in his spiritual form and therefore, a less stable and more sensitive/more humane form, any concrete memories or evidence of his past pains would trigger this. The pain would've been unbearable. But it can be tamed." "Does…..does that mean that it'll happen to me too?" asked Alexis in a frightened tone, partly because of what he had just seen, and partly because of the possibility that he might snap out of control anytime. Vincent stared down at Mark before answering.

"Yes"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Pizzeria; 3:00

"What do you think Mark and Alexis are doing right now?" asked Chica. Bonnie shrugged. "Dunno," "Probably having more fun than us." mumbled Foxy. "Anywhere would be better." said Chica under her breath. It was true. The Parts and Service room was a lonely place with little to while away the hours. (Chica tried counting how many days it had been, but lost count after the 50th one.) The worst part, though, was that it was dark. Unlike the other doors in the pizzeria, this door was heavy-duty metal. In a case of emergency, a.k.a. when Chica lost cupcake, either Freddy or Bonnie would help by using their unique lighting abilities. A lullaby accompanied by glow-y eyes in Freddy's case, or red laser-eyes in Bonnie's case. It worked just as well as lights. Lately however, they had been rationing their battery supply. It was getting dangerously low and once these cheap suits ran out of power, they'll never start again. What would you do if you could leave?" asked Foxy, trying to lighten the mood, being ever the gentleman even before the suit incident. Typical of him to make things better for everyone else. "Meh, I guess I would go to Vincent's and see where he lives." "What sort of place do you think he lives in?" asked Foxy, curious. "I can't say, a scary place maybe? With cobwebs and icky spiders." said Chica, her imagination running slightly wild. "But" she continued, gradually calming down, "I guess I don't know. Mark and Alexis were the only ones that had seen his house. I wonder what happened." "How about you Alex?" asked Bonnie before remembering that he wasn't here. He sighed and went back to sleep.

"Vincent, I think I'm going to be sick" said Alexis, belching slightly. Vincent's eyes instantly turned concerned. "Why?" Alexis gestured to Mark, still unconscious, "His eyes are _bleeding_ , how are you **not** sick?" Vincent didn't answer. "Anyways, I'm going to assume that seeing red waterfalls are trickling out of spirit eyes are a daily occurrence for you. So tell me, why is it happening?" Vincent suppressed a grim smile before saying, "let's shove a red-hot iron into your eyes and see how they react. That's how blacking-out feels" Alexis rolled his eyes. "You'd know how that feels." "Yeah I do" replied Vincent offhandedly. Alex decided to ignore that comment, but curiosity got the better of him and said, before he could stop himself, asked "how?" Vincent smiled darkly, remembering the day the springs went off. "You don't want to know, maybe the other Vincent will tell you". "Okay, I'll ask him" said Alexis. Vincent snorted. "How?" Alex shrugged. "I'll ask Scott to ask the other Vincent". "No you will not" he replied sternly. Alex glared at Vincent. Vincent turned away stiffly.

"What time is it?" asked Chica, just waking up from a nap. Bonnie thought for a moment. "Let's see; Foxy had combed his hair 15 times, smoothed out his jacket 30 times and redid his tie 8 times, so it's about 4:30." Foxy looked at them with a tolerant smile. Bonnie smiled too, as well as she could with half his face severed. Chica watched her 2 surrogate brothers bicker with happiness. She was glad of the familial bond that existed between them. Mark, Alexis, Bonnie, Foxy and her. She was the youngest of all of them and had expected to be bullied and treated like a nobody. What she had experienced instead was a lot of compassion and kindness. She loved these guys more than her real brothers which were the type of bullies you'd find in TV shows or on Youtube. "I don't do it that often," huffed Foxy playfully. Bonnie grinned at him before turning Chica towards Foxy just in time to see him unconsciously redoing his tie. "See?" said Bonnie triumphantly. Foxy looked down in surprise, then relented and let Chica giggle and Bonnie laugh.

11:00

"Vincent! He's waking up!" called Alex down the stairs. Vincent came rushing upstairs in time to see Mark moaning on the floor, hands on his head. "Ugh, I will never do that again" said Mark weakly before coughing slightly. "Meh, it wasn't really your fault, I should've told you" said Vincent. Alex turned to Mark in surprise, "you were conscious while you were…..out of control?" asked Alex, the sentence sounding weird and contrary. "Yeah I was, and never again will I do it." "It'll feel like a hangover," replied Vincent helpfully. Mark glared at him, the effect somewhat spoilt by the fact that his eyes were clouded. "When will I be able see again?" asked Mark as the thought came up. "about 2-3 days, depends" replied Vincent offhandedly. Mark groaned audibly. "I will never do that…ever." He repeated. Vincent smiled saying, "good, so you shouldn't. "How am I suppose to navigate through the pizzeria like this?!" whined Mark. Vincent shrugged before pivoting 180 and going upstairs with a uniform. Unlike the standard uniforms, this one was purple in color.

"An hour until show time." said Bonnie glancing at Foxy. Foxy looked at him while running a metal comb though his crimson hair. He glanced up and rolled his eyes before resuming. "Y'know, I've always wondered about something, how do you keep yourself so well groomed?" asked Chica, "my hair is usually tangled until 12:00.". Foxy smiled before tighten his grip on the comb and attacking Chica. She shrieked playfully and tried to throw him off. Bonnie looked at the 2 of them tussle, grinning at Chica's futile attempts. "Foxy was a white belt y'know, can't let him beat you" called Bonnie, still grinning. Chica redoubled her efforts before slumping on him, painting. "You said you were a white belt" accused Chica. Foxy grinned before rolling off and helping her sit up before ambushing her with a hairbrush until her hair shone. Chica rolled her eyes but didn't resist as Foxy fussed over her. Foxy always had these items ready, they were like his stock-in-trade, a brush, new touch-up paint, various replacement robotic parts (though eyes and upper arm pieces ran out, Foxy had to replace Chica's eyes and Bonnie's arm with his own parts, and his own eye and upper arm never functioned properly after that) and a puppet mask for Mark. As the thought came up, Foxy reached up with his hook to touch where his eye used to be, all that was left now was an empty crater with remnants of dried blood. Drawing a dark, red stain down face like the puppet mask. He glanced over at Chica to see if she'd noticed, she was always troubled by the fact that Foxy had given up his eye for her. Chica was talking to Bonnie about ways to bring him down the next time she and him went to tussle. Foxy smiled at this, it wouldn't do for Chica to see a pirate captain moping over an incident that happened years ago. Not at all. Foxy wanted everyone to be happy, like a maybe-not-so-typical bigger brother because, surprisingly, he was older than all the others with the exception of Mark. In order from oldest to youngest, Foxy would rank #2 even though Freddy was also 8. "Foxy!" squealed Chica, her high tone shattering glass panes, cups, (even the plastic ones) and Scott's rear window. Foxy winced at this but all the customers were gone so it was safe to shriek. Still, that didn't stop Bonnie from flinching violently, calming down after he saw that it was just Chica and her fangirl screams. "Chica" complained Bonnie, "don't scream like that, my eardrums can't take it" Chica grinned sheepishly at the rebuke and tried somewhat to lower the volume. Unfortunately, silence does not equal Chica. "AnywaysAlexisiscomingin10minuetsandnowwecanaskhimhowitwaslikeandMarkisalsocomingandthatmeansthatwecanfinallygetsomeanswersaboutwhereVincentlivesandmoreimportantlywegettoseethemagainICAN'TWAIT!" Bonnie groaned and covered his ears to avoid farther damage. Foxy tried to do the same but, having one of his hands being a hook; it didn't work so well, so he jammed his right ear against the wall instead. Chica continued to blabber while Bonnie and Foxy lay there, suffering.

"Mark? Alex? I'm not waiting for you, get in the car a.s.a.p. if you want to come with me" called Vincent from upstairs. Mark looked up at that and he and Bonnie floated downstairs into the car. Vincent came downstairs, looked around satisfied, and followed them to the car, keys in his pockets.

The night sky was scattered with stars. The sharp, cold air awakening Vincent's senses. He breathed a steam cloud that lay, quavering in the air before dispersing. "Vinny, hurry up." Complained Mark. Vincent came rushing down and, uniform and all, and into the car. "Okay, lets do this, no speeding ticket this time," said Vincent to himself. Alexis grimaced at the speeding part and double-checked his seatbelt. Mark looked over to him and mimicked his actions. Vincent glanced at them via his mirror and grinned. "I'll go slow" he said before driving faster than Batman (which is like….. over 200 miles/h)

"HIMARKY!WEMISSEDYOUSOMUCH!WEWERETALKINGABOUTYOUINTHEBACKROOMANDMEANDBON-BONWEREWONDERINGWHEREVINCENTLIVESANDIWASLIKEWHYDON'TWEASKTHEMSO….." Chica lost Mark and Alex in the conversation after a while and left their heads spinning. Bonnie stepped in to explain that Chica was wondering where Vincent lived and what you did. Mark told Chica and Bonnie everything, including the part where he walked into the attic. Vincent looked at Mark with an expression that was incredulous and furious at the same time. Mark and Alex seemed unaffected by the anger, merely smiling at him cheekily. Vincent rolled his eyes before walking off to the office. Leaving the animatronics to catch up with each other despite the fact that it had only been 18 hours since they saw each other.

(Hi! It's me! I just want to say that I am planning to use a name from the Twilight series and I want your opinion on it. Please comment what name you want me to use and try to guess which character it's going to be for! I've enabled guest reviews so you don't have to log in to comment.)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Mark! I know you're there, I can hear you breathing." called Chica from the corridor. Mark grinned at Chica's futile attempts to lure him out of his hiding spot, it was very elementary and he had no intention of letting it work. "C'mon!" whined Chica, still glancing around half-heartedly, trying to get a glimpse of Mark's signature white-and-black clothes. Keep trying, Mark thought to himself as he sat ever so still, waiting for Chica to leave. "Mark, come'ere, I need to tell you something, you too Chica, the game can wait" called Vincent from down the corridor. "Vinny! complained Mark, "You ruined it! I was almost going to win!" "Chica looked upset too, but not for the same reason. Vincent shook his head at his childish behavior before saying "Mark, this is important 'k? I really need you to listen; it's a matter of your safety". Mark perked up at that, interested in what he was about to say. "What happened?" he said seriously. Mark was always strangely responsible and serious when it came to the Family's wellbeing. Vincent supposed that it came with the years of worry that he'd experienced whilst being trapped in the puppet. Not for the first time, he thought sadly how much he regretted putting these kids through this situation; after all, it wasn't their fault. "You were saying?" prompted Mark, leaning forward. Vincent flinched out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry, I….." his words trailed off, as if unsure of himself. Mark huffed impatiently before turning into sprit form and looking him in the eye. Vincent eyed him a tad bit nervously before saying "Look, I don't know how to sugarcoat things, so I'm just going to say it outright. Someone's going to break in tonight." Mark staggered back at this. "WHAT?" he shouted, not believing his ears. "You heard me. Look, I know this because… today is a special day. Years ago, after you went…..missing, the company managed to recover from this situation only for the same thing to be repeated. More kids went missing." Mark stared at him, openmouthed, before managing to say, in a part hateful, part unbelieving tone; "You did WHAT?" Vincent backed away, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "It wasn't me, it was…..a sibling of mine." Mark's anger subsided quietly. "Wasn't you? You're the only one here capable of pulling that sort of thing off, who else **can** do it?" "It's genetic," mumbled Vincent, ashamed. Eh? was the answer. Vincent took a deep breath before continuing. "Look, that's not important, what's important is that today's my sister birthday, she alone is the only other member of my family that I've located. I and she used to work together in previous locations. But then the springlocks went off-"Mark cut him off. "Wait, weren't you the only one trapped in the suits?" "There were two suits" Vincent said, also cutting Mark off. "One of them was me, one of them was Luna, my sister" he added in the way of explanation. Mark's mouth formed an _o_ of understanding. Vincent glanced at him, amused at his expression before carrying on. "Today's her birthday, that mean's she will be looking for revenge. She knows where I work, she knows what I did." Vincent added the last part darkly. "So what do you want us to do?" asked Mark. Vincent looked at him in a way that seemed to say _are you sure?_ before spewing out a string of commands, contrary to what he felt inside. "You and the others are to stay in one room. There, you will report to me on what you see. Don't move even if she comes near you. In fact, don't move even if she's not near you. I'll be checking on the cameras for any disturbances. Mark, you will be my partner in the office. You'll help me in whatever I need. Maybe it's to fetch something from a room; maybe it's to alert someone of potential danger. Change into sprit form when you do though. She can't see you that way. " Mark was nodding as he absorbed all this information. "On the other hand, if Luna attempts to hurt any of you, all bets are off, go full out on her, knock her out or something. Then come to the office. Do you remember all of that?" Mark nodded slowly. "I'll pass it on" he promised. Vincent slumped against the wall, planning his own moves. He knew this was a lot to ask of a few kids, but they were the only people at his disposal and this was also, ironically, the only shot he had of keeping them safe. "One more thing, if worst should come to worst; do you want me to…..say the phrase?" Vincent looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "No I most certainly do not want you to do that!" he said, his voice rising in volume. "If anything happens, I will deal with it." Mark chuckled at what he thought of as over reaction before walking away to tell the others.

12:00

"Is everyone in position?" asked Vincent over the intercom. Yes, yes" was the reply from all the animatronics. "All right, this will be the last message that I will be sending to you. Does everyone know what to do?" "Yes!" they all chorused in the same exasperated tone. "All right, the break-in is going to start in 3, 2, and 1"

 _ **Crash!**_

5:00

Vincent flipped through the cameras, looking for any sign of Luna. None of the animatronics have seen her and he was beginning to get worried. "Report!" Vincent jumped out of his trance-like state and immediately replied through the headphones that he wore and gave to each one. "Where?" "Cam…..4 I think" replied the voice. Vincent froze for a moment. How was she so close?! He was sure he would've noticed. He realized that he had badly underestimated Luna's skills. "Report! Cam 2!" called a different voice before abruptly screaming and cutting off. "What happened?" asked Mark urgently, his voice echoing more than it should. Vincent shook his head quickly before rushing down the corridor. "Mark, get the _tool!_ Back room, third drawer!" He shouted over his shoulder before to Cam 2. Mark didn't question his orders. He sped to the back room, gone in a blink of the eye.

"Vincent" said Luna. He turned around to confront her, his eyes cold as ice. "What did you do? he spat. Luna's mouth twitched at the corners before revealing Bonnie, held against the neck, struggling against her grasp. "Another half-robot, didn't think I'd ever see one." she said. Vincent glared at her, not responding. Luna held the _tool_ against Bonnie, threat in every line of her body. "You wouldn't" growled Vincent, sinking into a defensive crouch. "You for him" she purred, still toying with the _tool._ Vincent didn't hesitate to answer. "Ye-""I'll do it" said Foxy, beating Vincent in answering. Vincent shot out a hand to stop him. "Foxy! No!" Foxy turned towards him, his eyes full of gentle determination. "Vincent, please." He still hesitated, then, before relenting, he whispered something into his ear. You're name was Carlisle." Foxy's eyes grew wide, and the transformation began, similar to Alexis and Mark's. He pulled out of his animatronic body and became a transparent, miniature version of himself. He smiled darkly at Luna, challenging her. Luna sprang at him. Vincent was transfixed at the scene that was unfolding before his eyes. Part of him wondered how Luna was able to see Carlisle, but that part was overwritten by his urge to help. He sprang at her, _tool_ in one hand. "Carlisle! Mark! On three!" Carlisle nodded once before kicking her legs from underneath her and holding both her hands down. Luna snarled at him and tried to break free, but Carlisle was strong for a kid and held his ground. Vincent leaped at her in the same instant. Mark tossed the _tool_ into his hand midair, and he attacked her with it.Her eyes went dark, and she slumped unconscious into Vincent's arms.

(Hi! It's me! I just wanted to add, by the way of explanation, that the _tool_ in the pisseria isn't the only one that exists and that these are actually quite common. That's how Luna also has one.)


	10. Chapter 10

(Hi! It's Me! I just wanted to say that his story will be in a different style. Like last time, I would like your opinion on this style and if I should write more like this in the future)

Chapter 10

"When do you think she's going to wake up?" asked Mark. Vincent looked at him, an uncertain expression written on his face. "I don't know, perhaps I should've been gentler. I just dove in and stabbed her with the _tool_. Hopefully she'll come about soon, but if she doesn't…..well, I don't know what I should do. I doubt anyone can treat her, being a half-robot hybrid and all….." "All that there is to do is to wait for her to come around I suppose." Said Carlisle, trying to convince Vincent that she breaking in and almost destroying their entire family wasn't all his fault. Vincent looked at him, a torn expression on his face. "Maybe it was my fault. Maybe I did something wrong in raising her. My parents didn't give 2 f's about her.". He added the last part a bit darkly, still holding resentment at what he considered was abandoning him and his sister. "It wasn't your fault that you were forced into becoming a sole parent when you were only 13" Carlisle said gently. Vincent looked at him, trying to see if he was mad or pitying. "I do not pity you." replied Carlisle to his unspoken question. Vincent slumped down onto the tiled floor, still cradling Luna in his arms. Mark's eyes twitched at Vincent's protective-ness over what he considered to be the exile of the Family. "Don't tell Vincent" Mark thought, he was sure that Vincent would react stiffly to that flippant remark. Carlisle nodded.

"Bonnie! You really should be more careful!" scolded Chica. Bonnie hung his head at that, ashamed that all this, though unlikely, could've been avoided if he had just dodged Luna a second faster. "I know….." he mumbled, not meeting her gaze. Chica lectured Bonnie for a few more moments before finally letting him crawl away, gasping for air. Chica huffed and stalked out, angry at Bonnie's attitude. She frowned at that. Bonnie had never acted like this before, perhaps…." She shook the ridiculous thought from her mind, walking a bit more briskly than before to clear her head.

6:00

Vincent carried Luna to his car, princess style. Luna stirred and struggled gently, wanting to be put down. Vincent opened the car door, which was difficult considering that Luna weighed quite a bit. Vincent smiled at the thought; Luna would've reacted peevishly to that. He gently set her down onto the seat, trying not to wake her, which wasn't very difficult considering the fact that she was conked out like a light. He was about to start the car when Mark and Carlisle came rushing up to him. "Wait!" called Mark. Vincent winced at the loud noise and turned to look balefully at Mark, reminding him to keep the volume down. Mark understood the look and said, in a quieter tone, "Carlisle and I are coming with you." Vincent didn't argue with this, he was too tired. He was always exhausted after the night shift. For a moment, he considered getting moved to the dayshift, but then discarded the thought. No one else survives the night shift. If the Family doesn't attack, the Outcasts (the new animatronics) will. Vincent sighed at this. "Got to tough it out" he thought to himself. "Sure," he replied to Marks question. "Thanks!" said Carlisle with a bright smile on his face. Vincent rolled his eyes at him while he floated into the car. "Keep an eye on Luna would you?" He asked over his shoulder. "Yeah sure, and one more thing, Mark and Alexis said that you go at a crazy speed when driving. Please don't do that." Vincent laughed at this, "don't worry, I'll go slowly." "Brace yourself" muttered Carlisle before Vincent stepped on the gas pedal and speeding down the road. Carlisle was holding on to the seatbelt the whole time despite the fact that he couldn't actually interact with it, matter of habit. He looked out the window, seeing nothing much except for a twilight blur, with occasional spots of light from a street lamp or two. These became less frequent however, when they entered the street where Vincent lived. "This is the one," said Vincent suddenly. Carlisle snapped his head around to look at the dark blur that he had indicated. On farther inspection, this house, though somewhat average, was a tiny bit more well-kept than the rest of the houses on this street. "Doesn't it seem dangerous to live here?" asked Carlisle. Vincent shrugged, "perhaps, but there's not much I can do about it. I suppose I've gotten used to it." Carlisle looked at him skeptically. Vincent shrugged.

They got out of the car, Vincent carrying Luna. He fumbled over the front door locks before finally getting it open and scrambling inside. Carlisle watch with amusement at Vincent's flaws and floated past him (a.k.a. through him) and watch as he carry her upstairs to his room. Carlisle also went upstairs, but nor for the same purpose. He was looking for the room that Mark had said would be his for the time being. "Third door on the right." He muttered to himself as he caught sight of the hallway that Mark had described.

The room was a well-ventilated one, with freshly-changed bed sheets and curtains. Against one wall was a polished wood desk with several drawers labeled with Mark's and Alexis's name. And his own, he realized which he found strange as it was not in keeping with how Vincent operated. It was such a…..considerate touch. He smiled despite himself and climbed up to the top bunk, collapsing on the bed. It had been years since he could sleep undisturbed by the possibility of danger right outside of the door and he planned to take full advantage of it. That turned out to be a mistake.

"Carlisle, do you remember me?" a chilling voice said. Carlisle whipped his head around, trying to tell where the voice had come from, a hopeless attempt since his surroundings were obliterated with black. "Who are you?" he said, not wanting to talk to this voice, but felt compelled to do so at the same time. The voice laughed a deep, single note laugh that gave no trace of pity or compassion. "Carlisle, you forgot already? Has Vincent ensnared you so easily? I'm disappointed, Puppet would've done better, but I guess that's all I can expect from you." Carlisle's eyes twitched at this but held a carefully composed face, determined not to let a trace of the seething anger and frustration show. "Terribly sorry, I really don't know you. Could you please inform me of your location so I can make your acquaintance?" he said, in his most persuading voice that also sounded like old English. The voice laughed with genuine humor before stepping out of the darkness. Carlisle's eyes became as big as saucer plates when he saw him. Vincent. "Well? Care to explain what you're doing here? I am very curious." Said Carlisle in a tone similar to how one would comment on the weather. Vincent laughed again, an appealing sound that sounded like a clarinet's rich tone, ringing for a second before cutting off. "Now surely I can't tell you that. After all you did. You were the one that locked me up like this, like a second-hand tool that no one wants. You got the no one wants part right, Carlisle thought before saying; "what did we ever do to you? If you ask me, the Family had every right to do what they did." "Why couldn't you kids just stay out of the way?!" Vincent stormed at him, eyes going dark. "Ah, you are the dark Vincent that Mark told me about. So this is what you are like, not much different from the day that I saw you. Pleasure's all mine." Carlisle spat the last word out, forcing as much insult as he could into that one word. Vincent glared at him, a cold smile playing on his face. "I was never the dark Vincent, I was the original. The Vincent you see and _love_ is a crude copy of **me.** If you hate me, then why do you like him? After all, we are one person." Carlisle turned his head so that he was facing away from him. "The other Vincent is the real Vincent, **you** **'** **re** the parody. Vincent's eyes clouded with rage at his words, he sprang at him, a knife appearing in his hand, but as soon as he was within 3 meters of Carlisle, he was suddenly jerked backwards. He gasped then groaned as he hit the ground. Carlisle was puzzled by this until he spotted something that he hadn't seen before. 3 chains were linked to him, not looking like they were attached to anything. They were transparent, which was why he didn't see them earlier. "So, I can't hurt you here" he muttered to himself as he wiped away a trace of blood that welled up from a cut that came from the knife. Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief at this fact. "Oh my, look at the time, it's almost 3, you should wake up now, saves me the pain." said Vincent, standing up. Carlisle flinched at his words before remembering that he had fallen asleep. "How do I do that?" he asked. Vincent shrugged, the chains clinking as he did. "I don't know, I'm just a part of Vincent 2.0, how am I suppose to know?" Carlisle rolled his eyes at him before sitting down. "Well, guess I just have to wait for me to wake up on my own." Vincent sat down again also, having nothing better to do. "Whatever. Oh, and do me a favor? Can you say the phrase _**art of prediction**_ for me?" Carlisle eyed him carefully. "Why" Vincent shrugged, "Just a thought, nothing behind it" he did his best innocent face, which didn't come off well. Carlisle gagged at Vincent's "innocent" face and said it, just to make him stop talking. " _ **Art of prediction**_ " he said casually before turning white and glow-y. He felt his senses sharpen so hard that he felt light-headed. "What did you d-"He never got to finish the sentence. He started to struggle for control over his own body, crying out as he did so. He felt like his eyes were being stabbed with the very knife from years ago that was currently in Vincent's hands. He started to twitch uncontrollably. "No….." he said softly, like a whisper before everything turned blank.

"Carlisle? Wake up, you been asle-" Carlisle turned towards him, growling, his eyes glowing menacingly. Vincent instantly grasped the weight of the situation, a second before he threw a right hook and a roundhouse blow at him. If he expected that to knock him out, he was disappointed. Carlisle dodged them with ease before dropping to a defensive crouch and springing at him. Vincent tripped him, knocking he air out of him before holding him in a chokehold. Eventually, he slumped unconscious, limp as a vegetable. Vincent sighed at the fact that he would have to face Mark for this before laying him on his bed and grabbing the bandages from the bathroom and wrapping them around his head, which instantly became soaked with a dark liquid.

8:00

"What did you say to him?" " _I_ _'_ _m not saying_ _"_ "You will say or I'm going to hurt you" _"_ _If you hurt me, you_ _'_ _re going to hurt yourself_ _"_ "I can tough it out" " _I_ _'_ _m more resistant to pain then you, I was the one that got crushed in the suit_ _"_ "And I care?" _"_ _You_ _'_ _re a softie, of course you care, even about me, that_ _'_ _s cute_ _"_ "Whatever, that's not the point. What I need you to do is to not touch my family ever again" _"_ _Hard to do, I can_ _'_ _t promise that._ _"_ "I'll stop you if you do" _"_ _You can_ _'_ _t, I_ _'_ _m more powerful than you_ _"_ "No you're not; you need me to unlock you if you want to take control." _"_ _You can_ _'_ _t keep them safe, but I can_ _"_ "That's funny" _"_ _I know_ _"_ "Well, I'm going to get dinner for Carlisle." _"_ _Hah, caring for the little physo are you? That_ _'_ _s sweet_ _, whatever, I'_ _ll talk to you some other time-_ and you will listen to me, whatever I say" _"_ _Heh, of course_ _"_

(Hi! It's me! I just wanted to say something very calmly….. **VERTO STRIFE JUST POSTED SEASON 2 OF** **"** **A LITTLE TOO FAR** **"** **!** Had to get that off my chest.)


	11. Chapter 11

(Hi! IT's me! I just wanted to say that this chapter may contain bits that are not suitable for younger audiences as there are bits that contain gore)

Chapter 11

"Mmmph" murmured Carlisle, finally coming awake. His eyes opened by a sliver and he gazed around (and seeing nothing), forgetting for a moment where he was, before he remembered what had happened. He groaned as the pain as nausea hit him like a brick. In fact compared to what he was experiencing now, a brick would've seemed like a feather. He attempted to swing his legs off the bed, but soon realised this was a mistake as his head started to shriek in protest, telling him to rest before doing anything at all. His hand flew towards his head in a vain attempt to stop the pounding headache there, and failing dismally. He groaned again before lying back onto the bed, gently this time, and reaching up to massage his head. "Ow" he muttered to himself. A thought struck him, "what time is it?". He estimated that he had been out for about an hour or two….. "So if I lost consciousness at around 8:00, and stayed like that for an hour, then it should be about 9 right now. Good, I still have time" he said, mentally reviewing the things that had happened from then to now. He suddenly became aware of a burning feeling in his eyes, and out of instinct, went to touch them. His hand encountered thick bandages that feel like sandpaper, and smelling about the same. He wrinkled his nose at this, "ugh" he muttered, and called for Vincent to ask him for a update on what had happened, a second before regretting the decision.

Vincent came rushing upstairs, his feet like hammers as he went up three at a time. He ran into the room Carlisle was in, and was instantly by his side, asking if he was alright, what hurt and if he felt like vomiting. Carlisle winced at his barrage of questions and wished that he hadn't called him upstairs. Vincent seemed to sense this but couldn't stop himself as he fired question after question. Carlisle moaned at this before burying his head in the pillow. "How long am I going to stay like this?" asked Carlisle, his words muffled by the pillow. Vincent hesitated for the first time before answering "few days probably, but that's not the topic right now. How are you feeling?! Do you feel any sort of nausea or pain?!" Vincent's voice rose as he grew more frantic, trying to detect what pains he was feeling. Carlisle rolled his eyes at what he considered to be excessive caution and brushed him off. "I'm alright, I…..I don't feel too much….." he trailed off, knowing that Vincent would see though his words, and he did. "Just tell me won't you? It may make you feel better". Carlisle whined into the pillow, still wanting him to go away. Vincent sighed at his uncooperative attitude and instead contented himself with pacing. Carlisle rolled his eyes at this before promptly falling back asleep.

Saturday

Carlisle's eye had healed by now, and was back at the pizzeria, catching up on what he'd missed, and that meant Vincent had some free time to himself, since he doesn't work on Saturdays and Sundays. Having nothing else to do, he went online to order more carbon dioxide from the science centre, after all, at the rate Mark, Alexis and Carlisle were going, he was going to run out soon. After that was done, he proceeded with the usual grind of the day, chores and etcetera. That took up most of his time, and by the time that he had finished, it was 8 pm, which didn't leave a lot of time or options for recreation. Vincent decided to recharge (sleep) early since there was nothing else he could do. Like Carlisle, he soon regretted the decision soon after.

Vincent dreamt that he was in the pizzeria, walking down the hall towards a safe room that didn't exist, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder as if he was nervous of something when he saw Mark. Normally, that would be nothing special since it wouldn't have been the first time he saw him, but for some reason, the sight made him panic. He ran down the hall into the safe room, and grabbed his knife that he used to always carry. He didn't understand why he felt the instinctive need to defend himself, but he did, and that was enough to compel his unwilling muscles to cooperate. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, trying to calm his nerves when he saw Mark and the others enter, a dark gleam in their eyes. Vincent had never seen him like this except for the incident in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza when he stuffed him into a suit. He felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he realised what was about to happen.

"Mark? What happened? Why are you like this?" he said, or at least, he thought he said. The words came out differently to the effect of "I got rid of you already! How are you still here?!" Vincent bit off the sentences following what he had just said; horrified at the words that were his own and yet, were not at the same time. Mark smiled gleefully, in the way a predator would feel as he cornered his prey. "You thought it would be easy? You thought we were going to stand idly and let you get away with the crimes you've committed?!" Vincent desperately wanted Mark to rethink his decisions before something very bad happened. "S-Stay away!" he said, in a voice that sounded strangely apart to his ears. Vincent went to raise his hands in a placating gesture, but what happened instead was something that he would've never done. He swiped at them with his knife. Mark stepped back, easily avoiding the clumsy, half-hearted blow and proceeded to have the others advance on him. Vincent glanced at the Spring Bonnie suit that was lying in a corner, still new and without bloodstains, and felt that it could protect him, thought he was unsure why. He started to move towards it, but, with an enormous effort, halted his pace and turned around to face Mark. He knew what was going to happen, knew what was in store, so there was no point in fighting it. What he didn't understand was the difference between now and a few years ago. There was a sixth spirit standing apart from the others that he didn't recognise. He had no time to ponder it however as Mark grew impatient with his stalling and forcefully shoved him into the suit. Vincent snapped back into reality and went to struggle against his hold, stopping just in time for him to remember that if he kept fidgeting like this, the springs would go off. However, this didn't stop Mark from pulling a lever that was hidden from plain sight and setting the springs off. The result was excruciating. Vincent cried out in pain as the springlocks forced their way into his body, tearing muscles and tissues. His legs gave way under him and he fell to the floor, full length as the springs continued to dig into him, creating a bloody mess on the floor. A part of him wondered if this was how other Vincent felt, but that part was overruled by the agony that stemmed from the wounds. His sight started to blur; not in the way his robotic eyes had, but in the way a normal human's eyes would've, with the edges of his sight going black. He felt consciousness slowly seep away as he lay there at the sprits nonexistent mercy. "Shoot, he's going to lose consciousness, hand me the adrenalin." said Mark, his voice sounding annoyed, like as if someone had just broke a expensive cup. Alexis handed him a syringe which he promptly stabbed into him. The effect was instantaneous. Vincent's eyes shot open as his heart rate accelerated, the pain redoubling. He bit his lips to keep the scream of torment from being too loud, as there was no way of stopping it as the pain became unbearable. "Where's the salt and bleach? I saw some in the kitchen and supply room" called Alexis offhandedly. "Salt? Bleach?" thought Vincent as he saw with his fading vision Carlisle and Chica run off in different directions, returning shortly with the items Alexis was missing. Vincent muffled his cry in the arms of the suit as the salt was placed onto the spring wounds and as the bleach was injected. _Injected._ By now, there wasn't a single thought in his mind that wasn't preoccupied with the pain. It was all he could think of as he gradually went limp; his movements become ever more fragile and meaningless. He felt darkness overwriting his mind, felt the relief of unconsciousness gradually creeping up on him, but at that moment, he knew he had to leave some vestige of forgiveness for Mark, some sign that he wasn't holding a grudge for what he was doing because Mark, at heart, was a kind and loyal friend to his family. As he turned his head feebly towards Mark, he said, almost inaudibly, "I forgive you" He felt, rather that saw Mark flinch at this, a second before he seemed to come to his senses, the dark gleam gone from his eyes. He saw tears form on his face as he realised in horror what he had just done before smiling again, the gleam back. "Laughable" he said in a purr before grabbing his knife and stabbing.

Vincent woke up, his head hammering at the recent nightmare. He glanced at the time. 6:00 He let out a long sigh as he got up silently, not wanting to believe what he had just witnessed. "It was just a dream" he told himself "Just a dream" He stayed like this for another ten minuets before getting out of bed and dressing in his uniform, preparing for work, even thought he didn't have to and even though Scott won't pay him overtime like the other employee. He laughed at the thought.

" _So, do you still care for him? After what hes done?"_

"Yes, I do. Mark didn't do anything wrong. He had full right to inflict pain on me if it eased his own torment."

 _I'll never understand you, I'd be looking for my own vengeance by now."_

"That's why Scott trusts me more than you"

" _He doesn't trust you more, he just likes you more."_

"The kids trust me more"

" _The kids don't know you"_

"You don't either"

" _Heh, if you prefer."_

"Keep your hands off from my dreams from now on y'hear?"

" _I can't promise that."_

"Try"

" _Hah, that's hilarious, why didn't you become a comedian"_

"Look, if you can't stop yourself, at least stay out of the kid's dreams."

" _That's okay for me"_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Vincent? Thank goodness you're here!" called an exasperated Scott. Vincent grinned at the sight of Scott trying to balance 3 trays of various food items, and not successfully. A plate of soft drinks tipped over the edge and the precariously-balanced trays went downhill. Literally. Scott's high-pitched shriek was audible across the room, turning heads and murmurs of disapproval. Vincent ran to help him, catching a tray with one hand, pivoting 90 degrees to catch the second and third trays. Scott regained his step and glanced gratefully at Vincent, smiling sheepishly at his clumsiness. Vincent smirked at this, feeling a trifle superior at his handiwork. "I came to see if you needed any help today." said Vincent unnecessarily. "Yes!" exploded Scott, his exhausted stance bearing testimony to his hard work since 8 in the morning, "Lilly-and-Charlie-still-haven't come-back-and-Jeremy's-off-for-the-day-'cause-he-was-working-the-night-shift-for-you-and-yesterday-a-friend-was-feeling-under-the-weather-so-I-had-to-pitch-in-on-his-paperwork-but-it –turned-out-that-there-was-still-an-interview-to-be-done-for-the-paperwork-so-I-had-to-call-his-client-and-act-on-his-behalf-and-got-the-work-done-at-12pm-and-submitted-it-at-7-in-the-morning-and-on-the-way-back-the-highway-was-crammed-due-to-construction-so-I-was-stuck-in-traffic-for-40-minuets-before-rushing-back-to-open-the-restaurant-which-was-completely-unready-for-the-day-so-I-had-to-make–the-pizzas-myself-but-they-tasted-like-s*it-so-I-had-to-serve-free-soft-drinks-instead-but-there-was-no-way-the-pizzeria-could-cover-the-cost-so-I" He stopped momentarily in his onrush of words to take a deep breath before finishing "so that's why I'm so glad to see you" Vincent smiled pityingly at him before setting the trays down on the nearest table and striding swiftly into the kitchen to prepare the items to-be ordered.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Scott spilled a few more drinks, some kids tore Vixen a.k.a. Funtime Foxy apart, and Vincent made countless rush-order pizzas and etcetera. Basically the same as every other day. When the time came to lock up, Scott took the keys from the desk in his office and tossed it to Vincent. "Oi, you'll be working double shift tomorrow alright?" Vincent sighed at this and shook his head, "I knew I shouldn't have come today" he mumbled to himself. Scott grinned at this. "That's why you're paid the big bucks." Vincent glanced at him incredulously. 'Big bucks?' the thought to himself as pictured his minimal-wage check. "Mhm, yeaaaaah sure." He replied before fetching his night watch cap and heading down the corridor.

"So Vinny, how was work today?" asked Alexis playfully-sarcastically. Vincent glanced at him, knowing that Alexis knew exactly what had happened. "Oh, you know, working double for half the pay, same old, same old." Mark caught the last few words of their conversation and smiled cheekily at him. Vincent drew breath to make a snappy comeback when Chica started running down the hall with Carlisle right on her heels. "Chica! Come back! You need to start learning to be a proper girl and go and brush your-hey!" he said when Bonnie caught him from behind, laughing at the fact that he was able to. "She'll learn when her hair gets tangled in the vents again." Carlisle grinned back at him before tossing his comb back into his shirt pocket and relaxing, bolting back down the hall with the rest of the 5 kids. Vincent looked at them with amusement, thinking how just a few days ago, before they met, they were bloodthirsty spirits, far from the innocent and carefree children they used to be. How that changed ironically, when he came along. He felt a certain sense of satisfaction at the fact that he was able to at least reverse some of what other Vincent had done. This sense of satisfaction changed drastically however, when a scream echoed down the hall. He stood up quickly, then was jerked back down as the straps tightened and bit into his arms. He muffled a swear under his breath before using a small pocked knife to sever the bonds and rushed down the hall.

（Yeah, I know that the phrase "a swear" isn't grammatically correct and technically, the word "swear" is verb）

By the time he'd gotten to where scream had originated, all of the kids were already there, gathered around Mark who was sitting against a wall, trying to steady his breathing while grasping at the wall behind him. "What's happening to him?" asked Alexis in a frantic voice. Vincent shook his head at his question. "I have never seen this before; other Vincent might've known, but he has never told me." Carlisle held out a _tool_ to him and said, as calmly as he could, "then ask him". Vincent glanced at it skeptically before saying "he might go out of control" Carlisle shrugged at this and proceeded to load up the backup files in Vincent's partly-artificial brain. The usual transformation took place, with Vincent's eyes going dark and collapsing. Carlisle always wondered why that happened, but now was not the time to ponder it. Vincent stood up. His stance hinted to the fact that the transformation was successful and was complete. Alexis growled at him, but reluctantly moved aside for Vincent to examine Mark. Vincent turned to Alexis to smirk arrogantly at him before keeling down to see what was wrong. His smirk faded, replaced with a bemused look and turned towards Alexis. "He needs to hurt someone" he said simply after 3 about 3 seconds. Carlisle sucked in a sharp breath, Bonnie covered Chica's ears and Alexis stared at him, thinking he was joking even though this situation demanded complete seriousness. Vincent sensed the question and held up a hand to forestall it, saying, "He's spent years stuffing night guards, the practice became an addiction. You can't just cut him off of it suddenly and without warning, as we did, it'll cause him pain, though it would be all mental." Alexis looked helplessly at Mark's writhing, non-existent body and opened his mouth to ask again. "He can use my pocket knife." replied Vincent to the unspoken question again. Alexis shut his mouth, slightly annoyed at Vincent's know-it-all attitude even though it was minuet compared to what he's done in the past few years. Vincent handed a knife to Mark, then braced himself as Mark effortlessly plunged it into his chest. "Going right for the prize," he muttered to himself as he withdrew. Mark's crazed look vanished, and he glanced down at the blood-soaked knife. His eyes widened and he tried to fling it across the room, only to find out that his hand was frozen stiff and couldn't move. He turned his head jerkily towards the others who immediately crowded around him, comforting him with promises of safety and other things that they were not sure of themselves. Only Alexis turned around, remembering that potential danger was behind them in the form of Vincent, but before he could bring Vincent 2.0 back, Carlisle stopped him. Alexis looked at Carlisle, a questioning look in his eyes. "Not now, there are a few things that I want to know." Alexis nodded at the decision, acknowledging it as a good move before moving aside for Carlisle to lead Vincent away into a side room. Vincent hissed at him before falling in step behind him.

"Why did I go berserk after saying _art of predicti_ _…_ _.._ " Carlisle stopped himself just in time. Vincent smiled, a little disappointedly before saying, infuriatingly, "I don't know what you're talking about" Carlisle growled at this, "don't play dumb with me; I know _you_ know what happened. Tell me now or something's going to happen" Vincent smirked at this, " _Something_ _'_ _s_ going to happen alright." Carlisle took a deep breath to steady himself, he was getting dangerously close to snapping, and it took an enormous effort to calm himself. He held out the knife that he picked up after Mark had dropped it and held it threateningly at eyes length. Normally, this effect would've been somewhat spoilt by the fact that Carlisle was at least 2 heads shorter than him, but he was in animatronic mode which meant that they were equal height. Vincent, accustomed to being in tight spots, eyed him neutrally. Carlisle was slightly worried at the fact that he seemed to be immune to threat and pain, but not too much. "Go ahead, do what you want." prompted Vincent. Carlisle gritted his teeth together. For a moment, he was tempted to accepting his offer and stabbing, but common sense told him that would be a bad move. He gradually relaxed his grip on the knife loosening. "Well, that's all, you don't have any information that I need right now, so you can go back." Vincent clicked his tongue together in disappointment. "Sure I can't stay?" he asked, knowing the answer. Carlisle rolled his eyes and shut him off.

(Hi! It's Me! Sorry for the late/short chapter, I was distracted by various things that came to my attention. Anyways, I will start working on my FictionPress story now so uploads may be slower from now on.

Sorry!)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Luna woke up slowly, consciousness gradually filling her mind. She rubbed her head, feeling a band-aid right at the front. She groaned as nausea hit her, harder than the finals in science. She lay back down, trying to ease her discomfort, and succeeding to a certain degree. Part of her mind wondered where she was, but that part was overwritten by qualm in her stomach. She groaned again.

" _Hi! Did you remember me?!_ _Probably_ _not, I_ _'_ _d forget about you too. It was a risky thing to change to your alter-self y_ _'_ _know, but then I suppose the choice wasn_ _'_ _t really yours. Meh, not like I care._ _"_

Luna sat up straight, all the nausea forgotten as she heard a voice inside her head like you see in the movies or a 2nd rate novel. "Who are you?" she asked with her mind, and feeling silly for doing so. Under normal circumstances, she would've passed it off as imagination, except this wasn't normal.

" _Ouch_ _!_ _T_ _hat was mean! You sure you don_ _'_ _t remember me? Dang, Vincent took a real hit on you did_ _'_ _ee? Tehe, to think he would hurt you of all people. Meh, really can_ _'_ _t say that I_ _'_ _m surprised, after all, it wasn_ _'_ _t the first time he tried to hurt a loved one, if he loved you at all in the first place. Can a partially-mindless half-robot person even love at all?_ _It's a_ _mystery!_ _"_

The voice giggled as she mused to herself about the human brain. Luna relaxed as she recalled what the voice was.

"Oh, Its you, why didn't you say you were going to stay after being locked up? I assumed you would be mad at me now."

" _Mad, oh no no no! I could never be mad at my favorite employee_ _!"_

Luna blushed at this, she loved it when her alter-self complimented her. She was the only one that could understand her, after all.

"Hey," she asked hesitantly, as if fearing of the answer "Do you know where big brother Vincent is? I haven't seen him for a while"

" _Don_ _'_ _t know, don_ _'_ _t care. And you_ _shouldn't_ _either really. After all, he did abandon you like a disposable item, not_ _caring_ _where you ended up._ _"_

"But if he really didn't care, why did he bring me here? I don't understand" replied Luna in a voice that sounded uncertain.

" _Because_ _he wants something from you_ _obviously"_

"But he already took all I have"

" _-sigh- look here, I dunno what he wants, and I don_ _'_ _t really care, what I care about is you_ _'_ _k? If you are going to go ahead and trust him, I won_ _'_ _t stop you. But if you chose to be a good girl_ _…_ _.. well, you know what to do_ _"_

"I'm not a child anymore, I'm 14!" Luna huffed, not wanting to be belittled in such a way.

" _Vinny_ _'_ _s older than you, he_ _'_ _s 38_ _"_

"No, he's 15, I think" said Luna, counting how many days had passed before Vincent shut his alter-self down.

" _Not the one I know_ _"_

"Wait….. If there are 2 Vincents, than that means that the one that doesn't care for me isn't the one that brought me here!" she exclaimed, happy that she found some plausible reason Vincent had hurt her then brought her here. Alter-Luna was going to object, but mindful of what alter-Vincent had recommended, she kept silent. Even though it wasn't her custom to be quiet.

3:30

"Okay, so, I just tell her everything, hope she doesn't spas out, and everything will be as normal as they can right?" asked Vincent as they got out of the car. "Probably, we've never done this sort of thing before, so we can't be certain" replied Mark. Vincent sighed at this before fumbling, around in his uniform to find his house keys. "Here," said Carlisle, handing him a bronze key "you left it on the table in the office" Vincent looked at him, a weak smile playing on his lips. "Thanks Carlie, I don't know what I'd do without you" The words were more heartfelt than he knew they were. "Do you think she'll be awake right now? She's been out cold for a few hours now, so odds are she might just carry one sleeping" called Alexis from the car. Vincent's eyes fell as he processed the piece of information. "I know, but…..I'm sure she's okay" he hastily added, reassuring himself more than anyone else. "One way to find out" said Mark cheerfully. Vincent looked at him in embarrassment as he realized that he had been standing outside of the front door for a while now and would probably look like an idiot to any passerby. He promptly stabbed the keys into the lock and jammed open. The hinges squealed in protest as he swung the door roughly, wincing at the noise. "Sheesh, you could at least calm yourself before breaking into your own house" muttered Alexis. Vincent rolled his eyes at him "you can just float past doors, I'm the one that has to do the hard work, after all, it's not like you can interact with anything physical except in the pizzeria and my house." Mark snorted at his tart rejoinder but nonetheless made a mental note to tell Alexis to put a rein on his tongue.

"Luna?" called Vincent "I'm back?" Luna shuffled down the stairs to give him a cold greeting. At least, that was her plan until she saw him. She couldn't stop the tears from falling from her eyes as she finally saw her brother after so many years, just like in a clichéd movie. "Maybe that's why the characters always cry" she thought, "It certainly made me do so" She collapsed into his arms and sobbed uncontrollably, hugging him closer. Vincent's carefully rehearsed lines flew out the window as he cradled her head into him, murmuring gently to soothe her. "Shhhhh….. Don't cry, It's me! ( **A/N: That** **'** **s my line** **…** **..)** I'm back!" Luna sobs were stifled, but that did not stop her from hiccupping little cries here and there as they made their way up 2 flights of stairs and into her room.

The day went by fast, with Vincent and Luna catching up on what had happened while Mark and co. did all the housework. Well, more specifically, with Carlisle doing the work with 2 freeloaders. Mark and Alexis ran around the house, shrieking laughter as they horseplayed around. Vincent and Luna groaned as they buried their heads in pillows, grateful for the fact that the neighbors couldn't hear them.

12:00

"Well, time to go to work," said Vincent. Luna looked at him, surprised. "You work during the day and the night?" Vincent grinned at her assumption and shook his head. "Now, only this one time" "Can't Jerebear fill in for you?" asked Luna in a pleading voice. Vincent gave in rather quickly to her plea and called Scott, who was more than a little p*ssed at Vincent last minuet back-out. Vincent hung up and turned towards her. "Happy?" "Very" she replied, a big smile on her face.

"Come on! Sleep in your own room" wined Vincent, trying to get dressed for bed. "Nope, I don't wanna" she said. Vincent was about to argue, but then was struck by a sudden headache. His hand flew towards his head as a reflex action. Luna eyed him curiously, but made no comment on that, sensing that it would be a very bad mistake to question on this particular subject. Vincent collapsed on the bed, not having the energy to argue after that. Luna smiled dryly at this. "Another win for me!" she said in a half-hearted attempt to impersonate a triumphant sports player. She fell beside him, smiling contently before dozing off.

-Static-

" _Yo, Didn_ _'_ _t expect to see you so soon_ _Eclipse_ _, thought you had control of_ _Luna"_

" _Used to, nice_ _handiwork_ _, by the way. Now I_ _'_ _m just a_ _manifestation_ _of Luna_ _'_ _s head. So boring!_ _"_

" _Serves you right for_ _telling_ _Luna how big of a meanie I was, and did you_ _know_ _how risky it was to make him feel an headache so I can talk to you?_ _"_

" _I was_ _telling_ _the truth, besides, you_ _haven't_ _been totally honest to Vinny either were you_ _Amethyst_ _?_ _"_

" _Don_ _'_ _t call me that. I can call you Eclipse, you can_ _'_ _t call me_ _Amethyst"_

" _Awwww, stop being sensitive!_ _–_ _stabs with a knife-_ _"_

" – _looks at blood trailing from_ _the_ _wound_ _-_ _I can be as sensitive as I want to_ _"_

" _You might have to adapt soon, the alter-kids are coming in for the attack_ _"_

" _Eh?_ _A_ _gain?_ _Whatever_ _, I_ _'_ _ll let Vincent have the nightmare by himself_ _"_

" _No you_ _aren't_ _, we are going to tough this out_ _ourselves_ _y_ _'_ _hear? Can_ _'_ _t let any of them know too much._ _"_

" _No, of course not. I_ _'_ _d be mad to let Vinny_ _know_ _what happened._ _"_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 _F*ck it Eclipse! Where are you this time?! If you_ _'_ _re going to backstab me again, I swear I will mess with Luna so bad until she CRIES!_ _"_ shouted Amethyst as he wondered around the pizzeria.

The location was different from the one Vincent worked at. This one had one main party room, consisting of a stage and several tables, a kitchen and several back doors leading to safe rooms. This was a time when the security cameras were still in semi-good condition, y'know, the type that doesn't have static.

" _Come and find me!_ _"_ said Eclipse in her annoyingly childish voice. Amethyst groaned at her petty little mind games and stalked off to find her, anger in every line of his body.

" _C_ _'_ _mon! I don_ _'_ _t have time for this! The kids are going to come and torment me in less than 3 minuets and I need you to stave them off!_ _"_ Amethyst groaned, scanning the sides of the corridors.

" _Peek-a-boo! I see you!_ _"_ screeched Eclipse suddenly. Amethyst jumped at her unexpectedness. He growled at her before shaking his head and stalking off. Eclipse laughed at his anger and followed him.

" _So, do you still want me to help you?_ _"_ asked Eclipse. Amethyst looked at her pityingly. _"_ _If I was to pick_ _ **now**_ _, I_ _'_ _d prefer if you stayed as far as you can_ _"_ Eclipse gave a high squeak of a laugh and threw her arms around him. _"_ _C_ _'_ _mon, let me help you, all I want in return is for you to let me take over a dream or 2!_ _"_ Amethyst gagged at this before pushing her off. Eclipse did her best pouty-face before continuing to follow his every step. Amethyst grumbled at Eclipse's annoying tailing.

-Reality-

Vincent stirred in his sleep. His face was contorted in worry and fear as he tossed about, sweating buckets whiling doing so. He moaned as he saw things that he wasn't suppose to. The same couldn't be said for Luna as she was sleeping soundly with a peaceful expression.

-Dream-

" _Keep it down!_ _"_ shouted Amethyst as Mark held a knife to his throat. Mark cocked his head to one side, not understanding while still wearing his maniacal expression of pure malicious glee. _"_ _Vincent_ _'_ _s going to wake up, which means_ _everything_ _is going to fly out the window and into the incinerator!_ _"_ Carlisle snorted at this before hitting Amethyst over the head. The impact propelled his head forward into the knife, which drew blood. Amethyst sighed and shook his head, _"_ _You_ _'_ _re cleaning this right?_ _"_ Eclipse peeked in from the doorframe and giggled at the sight. Amethyst, about to be slaughtered again, literally held at knife point, arguing about who's going to clean up the blood. _"_ _You are_ _silly;_ _did you expect someone else to do it? Besides, it_ _'_ _s your turn to clean the blood, I was there scrubbing for 2 hours last time!_ _"_ Amethyst sighed at Eclipse lack of pity and made a mental note to do something to Luna when Vincent wakes up.

" _Y_ _'_ _know Amethyst, I wanted to ask you something. Last nightmare, you were acting strange. You usually_ _aren't_ _that scared of us,_ _and_ _you were_ _…_ _.._ _"_ Mark hesitated; thinking back to when Amethyst said out of the blue "I forgive you". Amethyst chuckled. " _That wasn_ _'_ _t_ _me_ _,_ _that_ _was Vincent. Dunno what he_ _'_ _s doing to himself out there, but he_ _managed_ _to take my place inside your nightmare_ _"_ Mark's eyes twitched at this piece of information. He casually leaned forward to swipe at Amethyst again with the already-bloodied knife when he paused suddenly. Amethyst glanced at him, a puzzled expression on his face. _"_ _What_ _'_ _s the matter? Had enough fun?_ _"_ Mark glared at him, but surprisingly lowered the knife. Alexis looked up from his position on the floor, a fearful expression on his face. Amethyst looked at his with a bemused expression; he still couldn't get over the fact that in the nightmare, everyone was an opposite of their usual personalities. _"_ _W-What_ _'_ _s the matter?!_ _"_ he choked out, wincing at his own voice. Amethyst looked away in disgust, _"_ _What a loser_ _"_ he muttered. Carlisle whipped his head around to face him. He promptly stabbed a syringe into him and watched as Amethyst's eyes rolled upwards and fell onto the floor. Carlisle turned away smugly and faced Mark, comforting Alexis at the same time. Even with their personalities swapped, their affection for each other hasn't changed.

"What happened?" asked Carlisle. Mark turned towards Carlisle, a frightened expression on his face. "Do you remember when we…..did something to…Vincent?" Alexis looked up in horror, and confusion. "I thought his name was Amethyst?" Mark shook his head, furious with himself for not noticing the difference in personalities. "No…That was Vincent, not Amethyst….." Carlisle gasped at this, "How?" he asked in barely a whisper. "I don't know, Amethyst would know" mumbled Mark. "Then ask him" said Carlisle offhandedly. He unthinkingly gave Alexis a syringe of adrenalin which Alexis shied away from, whimpering slightly. Carlisle rolled his eyes at his nervous stance before stabbing it into Amethysts' unconscious form mercilessly and casually. His eyes shot open as his heart rate accelerated. _"_ _I told you not to do that!_ _"_ he hissed. Carlisle tsked at his discomfort before moving aside for Mark to interrogate him. Interrogate was an accurate term for what Mark was doing. Very stereotypical, with him cuffing Amethyst's hands behind him and to the wall; threatening all that's left of Amethyst's hollow existence; and getting nowhere.

-Reality-

Vincent was stirring very badly now, his hands claws at his side. "No…..stop…..not her…..what happened to you?!" he mumbled unsettlingly. His eyes were shut tight, trying to block out the nightmare even though he wasn't seeing anything. He groaned a useless sound.

-Dream-

" _This is getting us nowhere, is it?_ _"_ asked Carlisle. Mark glared at him, wishing that he'd say something useful instead of criticizing him. Amethyst laughed weakly at their ineffective tactics. He coughed out a bit of blood, which spattered onto the already-blood-encrusted floor. He gasped for air for a second before tilting his head up to smirk arrogantly at him, a triumphant light in his half-closed eyes. Carlisle glared at him and walked over to hold him in a lethal chokehold. Amethyst had lost too much blood to struggle as his vision blacken, and his stance relaxed. His eyes slowly closed as he smiled creepily at Eclipse, who was grinning back with a smile that would put the Cheshire cat to shame.

Vincent shot awake, his alarm beeping 7. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head which was still dazed from the nightmare. He glanced around, and saw Luna; curled into a ball. He smiled at her, she was really adorable this way, and got up carefully (as to not wake her) and went to make breakfast.

(Hi! It's Me! I just wanted to say that thank you all for supporting me this far! If any of you have any questions about the story, please comment them and I will do my best to answer it! Keep in mind though that I will answer them publicly so others can see it. If you wish to be PM'd, please say so in the comment _Ciao!_ )


	15. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

The light outside was still dim when Mark awoke. He lay on his bed, breathing steadily. He looked around the room he had been using since he first arrived, and took in the details for the first time. He slowly got up, and walked over to the mirror to make himself decent. He looked at his raven-black hair, un-tussled despite the fact that he had been sleeping for a solid eight hours. He unnecessarily straightened his black-and-white shirt and adjusted his half-face puppet mask which always hung on his head (and slightly to the side). He turned his head to look at Carlisle and Alexis, still sleeping soundly, snoring softly. Mark noticed with interest at their sleeping positions. Carlisle was sleeping in the "soldier's" position while Alexis slept in the "freefaller" position. Mark smiled at their peaceful expressions. They were really, very cute like this, he thought absentmindedly to himself. Something else he noticed was that their cloths and hair were not tussled by sleep either. Alexis's forest-brown hair and brown-leather tux were perfectly straight, which was almost identical to Carlisle's, save for the fact that his hair was crimson and that he wore a black-and-rosewood suit with gold patch-trimmings. (Note: rosewood is a deep shade of red, sort of like burgundy) Carlisle had taken off his eyepatch and was holding it tightly, as if afraid of letting it go. Mark's smile faded as his eyes wandered over to where the eyepatch usually concealed. A gaping hole was evident even without opening his eyes, proven by the scarlet blood trail running down his face. It looked a lot like Mark's makeup, and sometimes he would pretend that it was red paint to forget the real reason it was there. He floated gently over, and stroked his hand over his cheek, feeling the roughness of the dry blood. Carlisle stirred gently at his touch and a peaceful smile appeared on his face. "Marion, stop teasing Chica" he mumbled sleepily. Mark grinned as he recognized what he was dreaming about. There was that one time where Chica had decided to give Mark a nickname since "Marionette" or "Puppet" was kind of a mouthful. They settled on Marion, which was "so creative", at least that was what Mark said. It was a fun sort of teasing that families would enjoy. A happier time, unlike now.

Mark wandered around upstairs, enjoying this peaceful moment to himself when he heard Vincent downstairs, a quiet sizzling sound coming from the same direction. He guessed he was making breakfast for Luna since Mark, Carlisle and Alexis don't eat anything else other than carbon dioxide, water vapor, and occasionally when Vincent wasn't looking, helium. Mark chuckled at the image of Vincent rushing upstairs to yell at them after downing 3 cans of helium, red-faced and all. He laughed gently, a hollow sound that was little more than a parody of what it once was.

"Y'know Mark, I've always wanted to ask you something, what exactly happened to you before…..the unpleasantness between you and other Vincent?" asked Vincent, the words sounding odd to his ears as he used his own name to describe someone else. Mark looked at him strangely, setting down the can of water vapor "why this out of the blue? Has something happened?" Vincent shrugged, "nothing much, I just figured I'd like to know you better. After all, Luna and I are the only ones that can see you, so….. maybe we should know a little more about each other" he concluded the last part a bit lamely, as if uncertain of how to end the statement. Mark sighed, but found logic in what Vincent said, and complied, a nostalgic tone in his voice as he spoke.

Mark's P.O.V.

 _Hey girl, open the walls, play with your dolls. We_ _'_ _ll be a perfect family._

"Mom? Please answer me. Please... Please!" my plea fell on deaf ears as she continued to lock herself away in her room, saying something about "false love" and "doesn't deserve another woman"

 _When you walk away, is when we really play. You don_ _'_ _t hear me when I say_ _…_

I heard shattering from inside the room, followed by a stream of swearing. My hand froze before the door, shock coursing through me. I had never heard her swear like this, not even when dad lost 1000.00$ in cash when he cheated during a bet, not even when he came home one day, with an empty envelope formerly containing his pay. A shameless expression on his face.

" _Mom, please wake up. Dad_ _'_ _s with a slut, and your son is smoking_ _ **censured**_ _"_

What happened? Why was our family torn to bits, one agonizing piece at a time, extending the pain as long as it would last until….. I shut out the thought from my head, something normal children couldn't do. I practiced, unintentionally, at night so I don't have to listen to the arguments they have.

 _No one ever listens, this wallpaper glistens. Don_ _'_ _t let_ _them_ _see what goes on in the kitchen._

Mom finally comes out, her face streaked red from crying. She smiled warmly, faux-ly, as she hugged me and whispered "happy birthday, Mark, my special boy."

 _Places, places, get in your places. Throw on you dress and put on your doll faces._

That's right, it was my birthday. It had to be this specific time for my life to be turned around. The day that I was suppose to be happy would be the last day for my physical body even though my mind would wander far longer than that.

 _Everyone thinks that we_ _'_ _re perfect. Please don_ _'_ _t let them look through the_ _curtains_ _._

I wanted to go to Freddy Fazbear's Family Diner. That was my favorite place. But I didn't want to go today. Nothing could've made me want mom and dad to be within 10 meters of each other. They would do it for me though, at least mom would.

 _Picture, picture, smile for the picture. Pose with your_ _brother;_ _won_ _'_ _t you be a good sister?_

Me and mom ended up just walking there, I had to trick dad into thinking I was going out with my friends for frozen yogurt. He believed me, too easily. Maybe he doesn't care about me….. maybe I'm just being paranoid.

 _Everyone thinks that we_ _'_ _re perfect. Please don_ _'_ _t let them look through the curtains._

The walk there was uneventful. I and she exchanged few words as we strolled down the streets. I could tell she was feeling upset, equally obvious that she was trying to hide it. If she just let it out, maybe she would feel better. Maybe not.

 _D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-_ _E_ _I_ _see things that nobody else sees._

She was doing a good job though, and if I hadn't known her so well, she would've fooled me, but I did know her, which is why she didn't.

 _Hey girl, look at my mom, she's got it going on_ _._ _Ha, you're blinded by her jewelry._

I wasn't blinded to what she really felt like inside, not even when we entered the restaurant, my favorite and least favorite place.

 _When you turn your back she pulls out a flask_ _._ _And forgets his infidelity._

The place was exactly like how I remembered it, a cheerful place, with kids that run around carelessly, happily. Some people say it's strange how I consider others as kids while I'm really just a kid myself. My answer to that is…..I grew up too fast.

 _Uh-oh, she's coming to the attic, plastic, Go back to being plastic._

It's hard to stay a child when you live in a place like mine. With no friends and no one that understands.

 _No one ever listens, this wallpaper glistens_ _._ _One day they'll see what goes down in the kitchen._

I tried to be normal as I ran around half-heartedly, pretended to eat the pizza (I spat them out in the toilets afterwards) and built with building blocks.

 _Places, places, get in your places_ _._ _Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces._ _  
_ _Everyone thinks that we're perfect_ _._ _Please don't let them look through the curtains._

I wish I could build myself with building blocks. That way I would be able to manipulate my situation. If I could, I guess I would build my surroundings as a peaceful place.

 _Picture, picture, smile for the picture_ _._ _Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister?_

"Mark! Come on! Fredbear's going to sing happy birthday to you!" I heard my mom call. I hurried over there, with the readiness of someone that was waiting for a distraction from a boring task.

 _Everyone thinks that we're perfec_ _t._ _Please don't let them look through the curtains._

The singing was bad, the cake was bad, and the atmosphere was bad. I didn't want an audience. I didn't want to be the centre of attention; I wanted to blend in with the crowd.

You see people say "be unique!" The last time I tried that, I got locked in a closet.

 _D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E_ _._ _I see things that nobody else sees._

The song was irritatingly long, and the cake that I was forced to choke down could've been made with something else than the janitorial sponge's long-lost brother. I hurried away as soon as I could without being too suspicious.

 _Hey girl (hey girl, hey girl, hey girl, hey girl, hey girl, hey girl, hey girl...)_ _Hey girl, open your walls, play with your dolls_ _._ _We'll be a perfect family._

I didn't notice the car pulling up behind me.

 _Places, places, get in your places_ _._ _Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces._

I couldn't have noticed the person inside it.

 _Everyone thinks that we're perfect_ _._ _Please don't let them look through the curtains._

I wouldn't have heard the car door click open.

 _Picture, picture, smile for the picture_ _._ _Pose with your brother, won't you be a good sister? Everyone thinks that we're perfect_ _._ _Please don't let them look through the curtains._

I never saw the knife flashing down towards my unprotected self.

 _D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E_ _._ _I see things that nobody else sees._

-Second Person View-

Mark's eyes had gained a faraway look as he talked about what had happened, the tragic day everything was thrown away. "My biggest regret" said Mark after a moment's silence "is how I never fixed the bond between my parents. I never saw them again after this." his voice quivered at the last bit, and a single tear rolled off his eyes and onto his lap. Vincent stared at his across the table. He said nothing for several minuets as he absorbed what he had just said. Then he got up.

"You've been through a lot too. Didn't you?"

And for some reason, that made Mark feel like someone had finally understood what he felt like inside, like he could connect with what he had experienced.

Like he had just arrived home for the first time.

(Song by Melanie Martinez)


	16. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

"Vinny, I'm going on your computer and there's nothing you can do about it!" called Alexis from upstairs. Vincent rolled his eyes at him, "When did you ever ask permission from me?" he asked in a resigned tone. Alexis grinned at the truth of the statement before darting into a side room and disappearing from sight. "That's not fair, I asked for your permission before" called Mark, catching the last few words of Alexis and Vincent's conversation. "Once" murmured Vincent. Mark laughed before floating down the stairs and helping Vincent do whatever he was doing.

"What do you want to do now?" asked Alexis, Carlisle shrugged, "dunno, wanna play multiplayer games again?" Alexis thought for a moment before making a distasteful face. "Meh, it's hard to find amusement in virtual games when you're a 30 year old person trapped in time." Carlisle shrugged and sighed, "When was the last time we felt this bored?" he asked, flopping down on his bunk, eyes closed, a perfect image of total boredom. Alexis shrugged, still surfing the web, hands on his head. "Hey, I found something!" he said, suddenly excited. Carlisle looked up, wondering what had gotten Alexis so piqued. "Yeah?" he asked, a trifle interested himself. Alexis continued reading whatever he had found on the internet. "It's a record of Freddy's Pizzeria's records, oh, took a hit there" he muttered to himself. Carlisle snorted, I'm surprised the Pizzeria is still up and running after all the incidents." "No kidding" Alexis agreed, still eagerly reading his newest finding. He frowned after a few seconds, then asked, in a hesitant voice, as if afraid of what he might hear. "C-Carlisle, how many people were…..deceased there?" Carlisle made a noise of uncertainty, "dunno, counting the employees or excluding?" "Excluding" confirmed Alexis, "just us, I think. Mark was slaughtered elsewhere though, are we counting him?" Carlisle had rolled over and was examining what Alexis was doing with curiosity. "It says here that 8 kids went _missing_ " Carlisle frowned, "that's not right, I'm pretty sure it was just us." "I know, do you think….." Alexis shook his head at the thought "no" he said, as if coming to a decision "that's not possible". "What's not possible?" asked Carlisle, wanting to know what _that_ is. "It couldn't have been Luna, she's too kind." expanded Alexis. Carlisle didn't think it would be necessary to mention that she wasn't like this when they first met her, a rather violent introduction that was hard to forget. "It wasn't her, was it?"

"Probably, it runs in the family" replied Luna to Alexis's fake-casual question. Alexis's eyes widened as his assumption was proven correct by a first hand source. "W-w-who?" he stammered out, still horrified at what Luna, sweet gentle and somewhat innocent Luna, had done. Luna shrugged, "some poor saps, I don't remember their names". Vincent came strolling by Luna at that exact moment and sighed, putting whatever he was carrying down. "Luna! You should know better than that! Don't go mouthing off about crimes you'd committed to every person you meet!" Luna hung her head, abashed. "Sorry, sorry, I forgot" she mumbled. Vincent sighed irritably at her carelessness. "Honestly, you'd be the end of us". Alexis, still staggered at Luna's confession, asked, with a shaking voice, "what do you mean, _runs the family?_ _"_ Vincent shrugged, "Nothing much, except for the fact that anyone who was born in our family has done something less than honorable" "And had gotten away with it every time" added Luna offhandedly, as if she was commenting on the weather rather than disclosing major info that could get them both arrested. "I'm…..going to clear my head" said Alexis before floating away, shaking his head at the encounter. Vincent watched him leave, wondering if he had said too much. "Yeah you did" answered Luna to his unspoken question. Vincent rolled his eyes, "look who's talking".

"And?" After being told of Luna and Vincent's violent family line, he had raced upstairs to tell Mark, now he looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "and? AND?! What more do you want to have happened? Isn't 8 people enough?" Mark sighed at Alexis's overreaction, "let me put it in another way, what did you think was going to happen?" Alexis opened his mouth to answer, realized that he had nothing to say, and closed his mouth, realizing how ridiculous he must look. Mark smirked at his expression and dug his head back into his bunk, "exactly" he said smugly. Alexis glared at him, "but still….." he said uncertainly, Mark groaned, and said, as if Alexis had an IQ of 70, "Luna and Vincent are bad guy" he said, with disregard to grammar, "they hurt little kid, 4 kid come back, finds Vinny…" Alexis cuts him off, irritated. "Alright! Alright! You don't have to be so snotty about it" Mark _pft_ -d and turned away. "There you go" he muttered.

" _What did you tell Alexis?"_

"No way I'm going to tell you, I don't have a lot of secrets, but this is one of them, and you are never going to know"

" _I wouldn't be so sure"_

"Well I am"

.

Night came fast. Vincent had already hustled all the kids to bed before he himself, went to do the night shift. Luna tagged along, claiming that she _needed experience._ Vincent had snorted at this but reluctantly let her come.

"So Luna, all you have to do is to sift through these documents" instructed Vincent after arriving at the office. Luna nodded eagerly, wanting to get on with the work. It wasn't often that Vincent let her do some of his work but this was one of the times which meant Luna was going to take full advantage of it. "I know! I know!" she said, still excited. Vincent turned a worried look on her face and said "alright, but don't touch anything else okay?" "Ok!" said Luna. She beamed at him. Vincent sighed and walked away, hoping that she wouldn't cause too much damage.

As soon as he was gone, Luna went to explore the office she was in. There were no folders in plain sight, but upon opening a metal drawer, she found several files, all labeled with "Fazbear Entertainment". Luna's eyes gleamed with mischief. She knew she really shouldn't be nosing around in where she shouldn't; after all they (meaning the kids and her) had caused enough trouble for Vincent. But, like in all the clichéd movies ever made, temptation proved too much, and she slowly reached out a hand to pull out a tightly-packed folder. She examined it. There was nothing special about the folder; it was common, unremarkable, and mediocre. She flipped it over, expecting nothing special. The other side of the folder was labeled with black letters scrawled hastily across it, it read; "Employee History". "Wonder if Vinny's in here," she thought un-curiously before proceeding to open it.

The files in the folder practically flew out the moment she unfolded it. Luna gasped then groaned as she realized that she had to clean it up. She bent down unwillingly and began to scrape up the documents. One caught her eye; it was a picture of Jeremy. Luna didn't know Jeremy of course since they had never met, but she did hear Vincent mention him a couple of times. She stopped what she was doing and read the contents.

Name: Jeremy Fizgerald.

Age: 18

Occupation(s): Nighttime security, Daytime security

Pay: 120/30h

Jeremy joined Fazbear Entertainment on November 12th, 1987. He is a dependable person and has proven to be capable of performing the duties required of a Fazbear employee. He has an exceptional ability to remain _calm_ during tense moments and…...

Luna had quickly scanned over the rest, bored with the utilitarian information that was required legal documents and such. She swooped up a few more files before placing then neatly inside the folder, casually scanning the rest while she cleaned. "Charlie Rosette, Lilly Fuchsia, oh Vinny's in here!" mumbled Luna to herself. She stopped mumbling after another document caught her eye.

Name: Caesar Minuete

Age: 13

Occupation(s) Nighttime security

Pay: 120.30

Caesar Minuete was a capable person. After violation of Freddy Fazbear safty guidelines, he is deceased due to his own negligence. Fazbear Entertainment claims no responsibility.

Luna's eyes widened slowely as she read. She whipped out another random document out of the folder. It read the exact same thing.

Name: Stan Numerical

Age: 18

Occupation: Nighttime security

Pay: 120/30h

Stan Numerical was a capable person. After violation of Freddy Fazbear safty guidelines, he is deceased due to his own negligence. Fazbear Entertainment claims no responsibility.

Name: Kate Gorlan

Age: 16

Occupation: Nighttime security

Pay: 120/30h

Kate Gorlan was a capable person. After violation of Freddy Fazbear safty guidelines, she is deceased due to her own negligence. Fazbear Entertainment claims no responsibility.

"What happened here?" Luna whispered in horror to the still papers.

"I don't know what I should do" said Vincent. He and Bonnie were discussing the complicated setup with Mark and co. being spirits living in the natural world. Bonnie sighed and said "honestly, I don't know. Mark and the others seem to be doing a fine job on their own, but that could change. All I can recommend right now is not to fix something that isn't broken." Vincent sighed, "I guess. I just feel like I should be doing more than just waiting for something to happen. Bonnie smiled wanly, "I know how you feel, I often feel the same way about Chica." Vincent looked away. Not saying anything after that.

The clock struck 6 am. The restraints undid themselves and Vincent stood up, stretching. His shift was finally over and he was eager to get home. As he went to fetch Luna, his mind wandered towards the topic concerning the animatronics. He was thinking about Chica, and how lucky she was, having an brother to take care of her, not having to deal with the dramas he was feeling. "Chica is the most fortunate of us all. Ironic, since Sarah is the youngest one." Vincent stopped cold in his tracks, scanning his memory. "Sarah….. That's her name!" Vincent was about to rush off to tell Chica, but something stopped him. If he was to separate Chi-Sarah from Bonnie right now, then Bonnie would be left with no companions. His mind raced, to say or not to tell?

"I can't tell her"

(Hi! It's Me! I hope you enjoyed. I was reviewing my stories and found that there was no action whatsoever. It was very boring, even for me, so I will try to add some more drama from now on, Ciao!)


	17. Chapter 18

Chapter 17

Vincent and Luna drove home in a subdued silence. Each one of them with a dangerous secret, each one of them not saying anything. When the car pulled up onto Vincent's garage, he turned the music off, and shut off the car engine, still not saying a word. Luna got quietly out, and headed directly for the door, forgetting the proper manners she usually had, which dictated that she wait for Vincent. He didn't notice, however, since he was preoccupied with his own thoughts. The house was dimly lit when they entered the second floor. Mark, as usual, was the first one up. "Morning Vinny, morning Luna" he said casually. Vincent and Luna raised a hand briefly in greeting, but then turned stiffly to their own rooms. Mark stared after them, a puzzled expression on his face, and a tad bit worried at his behavior.

The day proceeded as usual, with nothing to indicate anything had happened out of the ordinary. Luna made breakfast this time, while Vincent went around, cleaning after Mark and Alexis's mess.

The doorbell rang. Vincent looked up from where he was picking up a drawing, (the drawing, in fact, was a crude picture of him getting pummeled by Mark) in surprise. He wasn't expecting any visitors since this street wasn't exactly what one may call friendly. Heck, even the mailman would avoid this place as much as possible, and amongst the houses that populated this street, the one Vincent and Luna lived in the one that would be the most un-attractive place. "Coming" called Vincent after a pause. He opened it, and saw the cops waiting.

Vincent felt the color drain from his face. His first and initial reaction would be that he cops found out where he had hidden the bodies. But, after this jumpstart theory, he reasoned that the cops would not be calmly standing their, waiting for him to do something if that was the case. "May I help you?" he asked pleasantly. One of the police took out a photo, "have you seen this woman?" he asked, with the tone of having to repeat this exact same phrase many times, vigilant, yet disinterested. Vincent took the photo and examined it. He felt a sinking sensation as he recognized who this person is. Luna.

Vincent smiled apologetically, "sorry, but I don't know who this person is" The cops said something to each other, something along the lines of "maybe this is the wrong place" and "another dud." Vincent's smile was still on his face, but his eye twitched slightly at being called a dud. The cops turned around, and started to leave, just like that. Vincent closed the door with a gentle _click_ before turning away, heaving a sigh of relief. That was close.

"Luna!" shouted Vincent as soon as the cops were out of hearing range. Luna ,finishing the last of the dishes, glanced to where Vincent was, red-faced and furious. "Y-yeah?" she answered nervously. Truth be told, Vincent was a bit scary like this, "LUNA! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE?!" shouted a very angry Vincent. 'Scratch that' Luna thought 'very scary would be a better word.

"What…..what did I do?" she whimpered. Mark had come down by now and was an interested spectator as he watched Vincent yell at Luna. He had never seen him like this and for a moment, he thought that Original Vincent (a.k.a. Amethyst) had come back.

"You have just placed this family on the _prime suspects_ list!" he raged at her. Luna stared at him in shock, still not comprehending what he was saying. "Uhhhhh…" said Luna, very lost in the conversation by now. Vincent growled as he realized that he would have to explain some more. "The cops showed up at the door just now, looking for you." Luna's mouth fell to the floor. "But how?!" she said, practically hysterical now that she knew what Vincent was so vexed about "I covered up all of my tracks! I disposed of the bodies and the knife; I cleaned up the blood and edited the surveillance recordings! There's no way the incident could be traced back to me." Vincent sighed angrily as he realized where Luna had slipped up, "where did you put the bodies?" Luna hesitated before saying, in a small voice. "I tossed them into the woods, I thought they would decompose…" "You can't do something like that! The bones would still be there! This is obvious!" Luna groaned as she came to the same realization he did. "Sorry." She mumbled, ashamed with herself. Vincent shook his head, completely lost in rage. He was drawing breath to yell at Luna some more if Alexis hadn't called him upstairs. He turned his head towards their room, then glared back at Luna. Later, the look said. Luna shuddered at this and made a mental note to lock herself in her bedroom if she wanted to survive a little longer.

Vincent walked upstairs, taking an extra long time to control his emotions before confronting Alexis. He had no idea how much he had heard of his admittedly pre-mature outburst, and was not eager to find out. He knocked on his door, sharper than he had intended. "Come in," came a muffled reply. Vincent took a few deep breaths to make sure he was fully okay before turning the handle and opening the door.

Vincent saw Alexis sitting by the table, doodling randomly on a piece of scrap paper. He looked up at Vincent when he entered and set down the paper he was using. "Vincent, what was that about?" he asked, rhetorically. Vincent shifted his weight uncomfortably, looking down at the ground, like a toddler that had been caught doing something he shouldn't be. Alexis felt embarrassed more than a little flattered at his respect for him, but that was beside the point. He stood up from his spot and began pacing around the room. Perhaps "pacing" would be a misleading word, float would be a better description of what he was doing.

"Look Vincent, I know you're mad at Luna, but you should be offering her support, not than criticism. Granted, I may not be the **best** , or the bravest or the wisest leader the Family could have, but I am **a** leader, and I did experience more than you, in some ways. Looking after these kids isn't easy, especially since I'm one myself, it can be extremely stressful, with sleepless nights and constant edginess. But one quality that we had that got us through the mess was that we stayed tolerant of each other. We were willing to hear each other out and to offer sympathy when needed." Vincent sighed and nodded, "I know, and I know I should be more understanding of Luna. It's just…..hard." The moment those words left his mouth, he realized how clichéd and pathetic they sounded, as if he didn't acknowledge the fact that Luna had gone through just as much. Alexis smiled at this however, with the understanding of a surrogate parent.

Back in her room, Luna was sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" she cried to the bedcovers. "I know I shouldn't have done any of this, but I couldn't stop myself!" She continued to sob until her cries were reduced to stifles. She lay there for a while, just hiccupping small whimpers.

It was unfortunate for Luna that Eclipse had decided that now would be the perfect time to make an appearance.

 _"_ _Crybaby, pull yourself together!_ _"_ said Eclipse, her sweet, contaminated voice echoing in her mind. Luna stiffened at this, and gave her focus to Eclipse. "y-yeah?" she sniffled. Eclipse mentally shook her head admonishingly. _"_ _Luna dear, look what he_ _'_ _s done to_ _you?_ _Do you_ _think_ _any true_ _sibling_ _would do something oh so terrible to their precious sister?_ _"_ Luna shook her head jerkily, "no…..but Vinny is still my….." _"Brother_ _?_ _C_ _an_ _'_ _t be much of a brother if he_ _'_ _s acting like a spoiled little brat_ _"_ Luna snapped slightly at this, "he's a wonderful brother! He has his faults, we all do. He has done so much for me! He accepted me even when I tried to attack him! My own brother!" she repeated, half-hysterical and half-angrily. _"_ _He only accepted you to gain revenge on what you did._ _"_ Eclipse cooed cruely. Luna's tears, which had temporarily been stopped, started up again, streams pouring down her face. _"_ _I can make the pain go away_ _"_ tempted Eclipse. Luna looked up at this, "really?" she asked, hopeful as well as fearful. _"_ _Of course, just give in. Relax your mind, just let yourself go into the darkness_ _"_ Eclipse's voice had gained a soothing, compelling tone as she said these words. Luna felt a tiny bit lightheaded as she said this. She was about to let go when a thought occurred to her. "Don't hurt Vinny?" she asked tensely. _"_ _No, I would never_ _disappoint_ _my favorite little child._ _"_ These were the last words Luna heard before she grabbed the _tool_ and thrusted upwards with it.

Eclipse stood up, feeling her senses come alive at being human again. "Gullible little Luna." She muttered to herself before striding out of her room and going downstairs to get a knife.

She snuck back up the stairs, creeping into Alexis's room. She opened the door; saw that he was distracted, and lunged.

"Look out!" called Alexis uselessly as Eclipse pounced on him. Vincent turned around and had time for a squeak of fear before leaping back, narrowly avoiding being cut in half. "Luna! What has gotten into you?!" he shouted, yelping slightly as Eclipse stepped forward to swipe at him again. "I'm not Luna" she said sweetly. Vincent felt a despair-like emotion as he realized what had happened. "Luna, what have I done to you?" he murmured to himself. Eclipse heard what he had said and smiled, "What have you done indeed?' she asked sarcastically before pouncing on him, going for a sidestroke. Vincent leapt back again, and unfortunately for him, hit the leg of one of the bunks and tripped. Eclipse went and followed up on her advantage, putting on knee on his chest and jabbing down.

Vincent caught the knife.

It was a classical situation, something you'd expect to happen in novels and low-budget movies. Eclipse growled as she realized that she was at a disadvantage. In a contest of pure strength, Vincent was technically stronger than Eclipse. He smiled tightly as he realized that he had won this round. Then Eclipse spoke; "why are you hurting me?" Vincent glared at her, not replying. "You're not Luna" he growled menacingly "get out of her body" Eclipse looked at her mockingly, "Eclipse and Luna share one body, If you hurt me, you'll hurt her." Vincent's smile faded as she realized that she was right. "Look, just let me end the pain, I can; you know. Luna will be happier this way and you know it. Just let me in" Vincent glanced away uncertainly; the offer was tempting yet wrong, giving in meant either letting Amethyst take control or letting her stab him. Either way, Eclipse wins; yet, if he didn't do something, he would end up having to hurt Luna. His grip on the knife started to falter, and Eclipse saw this as an act of weakness. She smiled, that meant she was making progress, "just let go"

He let go.

(Hi! It's Me! Apologies for the short chapter! I had to wrap this chapter up because something happened at school that involved me being embarrassed in front of **everyone!** –Sniff—sniff-)


	18. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

Vincent felt his grip slip from the knife, felt the wind of its passage as it whistled down onto him. He closed his eyes, expecting the searing pain of the knife tearing through him.

It stopped

"Luna! Stay down!" shouted Eclipse, struggling with what looked like nothing. Vincent opened his eyes to look awkwardly at her. It was an uncomfortable position they were in, with Eclipse sitting on top of him. Alexis, still sitting at the table, snickered at this. Vincent saw this as an opportunity.

He kicked her

Hard

Eclipse was sent flying back, her arms pinwheels as she struggled to steady herself. Vincent threw out a hand towards the bed, propping himself upwards, and pounced on her. Eclipse hissed as he slammed into her, sending them both crashing to the walls. Eclipse growled as she placed both of her hands on Vincent's shoulders and pushed, hard. Vincent held back the string of insults he wanted to spit at Eclipse and instead, saved his breath to yank her away from the wall and hold her in a chokehold, like he did with Carlisle. Eclipse, however, was a tougher opponent Carlisle, and he, admittedly, had trouble holding her down. Eclipse struggled hard, twisting and turning in hopes of Vincent falling off. Vincent hissed in annoyance as he realized what she was doing. He tried to adjust himself to this situation, but without success. Eclipse kicked him in the legs, effectively tripping him. Vincent fell full-faced into her, and instantly tried to roll off. Eclipse leapt her feet, and they started to circle. Eclipse ran her hand through her purple-dyed hair and blew a kiss at him, attempting to distract Vincent. It was an old trick, and Vincent knew it. He _tsk_ ed at her futile attempt. Being the person he was; Vincent wasn't the type to be diluted so easily by such a cheep method.

He sprang

Eclipse skipped out of the way, and shuffled her way behind him. Vincent turned around instantly and grabbed her hand just she was about to attack. Eclipse spun herself underarm, and twisted her hand out of Vincent's grasp. Vincent took this opportunity to pull himself closer to Eclipse and knocked her on the head. The violent movement was too much for Eclipse's system.

It crashed

Eclipse's vision started to static. She desperately tried to keep on going, but it was useless. She clutched her head, groaning softly as she felt her human side fighting her artificial side which wanted to flash quit. Vincent picked up the discarded knife and cuffed her once with the pommel, sending her sprawling. Vincent was breathing heavily by now, and slowly sat down. "Luna, you idiot, why did you agree to let Eclipse take over?" he muttered to himself. "Great work" said Alexis, sitting now on one of the top bunks. Vincent turned his head away in mock disgust "nice of you to help me" Alexis grinned, "you had things under control" Vincent rolled his eyes at him. Alexis gestured to the unconscious Eclipse on the floor, "what do you want to do with her?" he asked. Vincent glanced down, and shrugged. "Call in Mark and Carlisle, she's your problem now". Alexis barely had time for a protest before Vincent closed the door on him. Alexis's very-audible moan could be heard clearly from his room

"Mfff? MMMMMFFFFF!" Mark sighed and looked towards Eclipse. When Vincent conked Eclipse out, Mark and Carlisle dragged her room, and taped up her mouth along with her hands and ankles. "Mff! Muff! Hmmffff! Mmmmmfffffffff!" she shouted, struggling against the bonds. "Oh shut up" muttered Mark, "no one can understand you, save your breath" Eclipse glared at him, thrashing around on her bed. Mark groaned and covered his ears with his hands, not that it mattered of course because, technically, he wasn't there, he wasn't physical and that meant the sound waves from Eclipse can pass clean through him. He groaned again as he realized this. Eclipse seemed to also realize this, she said something under her breath, "arf uf mamifulashon" Mark snapped his head around to face her, all the previous complaint gone from his stance as he zapped over to her, his face inches from hers, "what did you just say?!" he shouted, surprise as well as anger in his body language. Eclipse smiled cheekily at him from under the duct tape, shrugging her shoulders as if to say, "Sorry sweetcheeks, I can't talk. But even if I could, there's no way that I would tell you" Mark glared furiously down at her. Despite being taped up and virtually helpless, she still has enough bravado to mock him with words that could be vital in their safety. Mark glowered, if he didn't remove the duct tape from Eclipse, he will never find out what she was going to say, but if he did, she would probably do something less-than-acceptable like shouting out "I'm being kidnapped!" or "This man is hurting me!" Mark racked his brains trying to come up with something and was almost too glad when he saw Carlisle enter the room, "Carlisle! What do I do with her?!" Carlisle stopped walking and turned towards him, a perplexed expression on his face. "Uh…..leave her there?" he suggested uncertainly. To him, it seemed Mark had lost a few marbles and started going little cray-cray. Mark grimaced at his assumption, "I meant, what do we do with Eclipse? She knows something important and she won't say what" Carlisle thought for a while, "Ask Vincent, he's probably dealt with this sort of stuff before" Mark allowed himself a dark smile as he realized that Carlisle's approximation of Vincent may be more accurate than he thought. "Yeah, sure." He said absentmindedly. He turned around slowly and exited the room, going clean through the door in the process.

"Eclipse, just tell us what you know" said Vincent. Eclipse giggled. The duct tape had just been removed from her mouth and she was eager to taunt Vincent "No way, if I spill the beans now, Amethyst would go full-out genocide on me." Vincent hissed, then slowly asked; "will you tell Amethyst then?" she looked up quickly, "of course!" she squealed happily, eager to hear what he has to say even though she already sort of knew. "Mark, get the _tool_ , I'm going to go offline for a while" said Vincent, a bit shakily as he realized what he had to do to get Eclipse talking. Mark dashed out of the room to fetch the item requested. Alexis ran over to stop Vincent, "this isn't right!" he shouted, "we're basically handing over what Eclipse wants!" Vincent sighed stiffly and nodded, "I know, but she won't say anything unless it's Amethyst" Alexis shook his head, "how will you stop yourself from going genocide on us? And besides, you and Amethyst don't share memories anyways so you can't really hear what she says anyways." Vincent nodded, "I know, that's why I want you to be here to listen for me". Alexis was taken back by his request, "I can't! How am I suppose to stop all of you?!" he said, a trifle bit hysterical. Vincent shrugged, "I know you can, I have faith in you" Alexis sighed angrily, "having faith in me won't stop Amethyst and Eclipse you know" Vincent didn't answer.

"Are you sure about this? It seems really dangerous" said Mark uncertainly as he handed Vincent the _tool_ **(A/N I really don** **'** **t want to call the memory-switching thing the** _ **tool**_ **anymore, if you guys have any suggestions, please let me know in the** **comment** **section or via PM)**. Vincent rolls his eyes, "You don't say" he muttered before stabbing upwards.

The usual transformation took place. Vincent's eyes rolled upwards and he dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, then got up again as a completely different person. Mark, Carlisle and Alexis leaned forward, baring their teeth at him, preparing to take him down on a second's notice.

"Eclipse, I'm disappointed in you, to think my counterpart could take you down….. tsk," Eclipse give him a "u serious?" look and said something to him sounding like "im soffy, buf he waf beffer fan me. Just gef meh uff " Amethyst grinned evilly at her, "do it yourself, I don't give a f*ck about you anyways. You got yourself into this mess, get yourself out" Eclipse glowered but nonetheless started to wiggle away from the bed and onto the floor. She hit the floor with a dulled "smack" and proceeded to cut herself free with the legs of the bed. Amethyst laughed cruelly at her struggles and turned towards Mark, "what do you want brat?" he said, the contempt heavy in his tone. Mark bristled at his, but said calmly enough; "You and Eclipse know something vital to us, what is it?" Amethyst laughed a hollow laugh, "I'm not telling! There's no way that I'll just hand over something so valuable to you just like this, unless….." "Name the price" said Mark swiftly, not wanting to waste any time on idle chatter. Amethyst gave him a wolf's grin, "I like your spirit kid, very well then. I want you to….." he paused dramatically; Amethyst always did have flare for the theatrical. Mark was tempted to throttle him on the spot yelling "GET ON WITH IT!" but controlled himself with an effort, forcing himself to wait patiently for his answer. "…..give me the latest updated files on Fazbear Enterprises and Fazbear Entertainment" Mark stared at him oddly, "what do you want that for?" Amethyst shrugged, grinning innocently. "Beggars can't be choosers. You're the one that needs my help, so _**don**_ _ **'**_ _ **t**_ _**question**_ _ **my motives**_ " Mark actually stepped back at the intensity of Amethyst's last statement. "Alright, I'll see what I can do," he said quietly. Carlisle stepped in, "are you sure about this? He might have his own rationale for this, we can't afford to give him even that" Mark nodded mutely, "I know, but the question is, can we afford _not_ to give him that? The information he has may outweigh the information new give him." Carlisle nodded at the logic in his words, "True, but what do we do if he doesn't keep his end of the promise?" Mark looked away, "nothing really, I guess we just have to wait to see how it plays out" he turned back to Amethyst, "alright, we agree to the terms" Amethyst smiled gleefully, "excellent, and as a sign of good faith, I'll keep my end of the promise first".

"Carlisle, your trigger phrase is _art of prediction,_ Mark, your trigger phrase is _art of_ _manipulation_ _,_ Alexis, your trigger phrase is _art of leadership_ , Sarah's trigger phrase is _art of deception,_ and the purple rabbit's trigger phrase is _art of paranoia_ _"_ Mark was taken back by his open generosity, "wait, didn't you want us to deliver the documents first? And how do you know…..Chica's name?" Amethyst chuckled, "there's a lot of things I know kid, don't sweat on it."

"Meanie! You just left me there to free myself! Some big bro you are" Amethyst snickered at Eclipse, struggling on the floor, still pealing away the remnants of the tape. "Sorry sweets, you're just too cute when you're mad" he said sweetly, dripping with toxin. Eclipse blushed rose-red, "oh stop it you" she giggled, wrapping herself around him protectively. Alexis gagged slightly at Eclipse's pda. Carlisle however, having read his fill of T-rated romance/horror novels he found in his parents bedroom, seemed unfazed by this. "So? What's your plan?" asked Eclipse, looking towards Mark. He hesitated, "I…..I don't know, I've never done something like this. Eclipse laughed, "So innocent, never seen a slice of deception, violence, or betrayal in your pathetic little lives". At this, Mark had to laugh. He alone has probably seen more deceit, bloodshed and treason than either of them. "Well, I'm going back now, take care sweetie" said Amethyst before thrusting with the _tool_. Eclipse watched as he did this, then followed suit, her head knocking against the wall as she did.

(Hi! It's Me! I just wanted to say that I've decided for this series to end on it's 30th chapter. I want to work more on my other stories when I finish this. So yeah, now you know. Ciao!) 


	19. Chapter 20

(Hi! It's Me!

I know, I know. I said this story would be on hiatus, but I couldn't help myself but to upload another chapter. In this chapter, I will try to bring out each character's personality a little more, so don't be confused if you see a character not acting like him/herself.

Ciao!)

Chapter 20

-Time Skip; One Day-

"Alright boys, looks like an indoor day for you" said Vincent, pulling the curtains shut in Mark and co.'s room. Alexis sighed and flopped onto the bunk bed. "Just like old times" he mumbled, closing his eyes. Carlisle grinned nostalgically, "Yeah. I almost miss the pizzeria" he said offhandedly, " _almost_ ". Even Mark, who was usually energetic and vigilant, was affected by the rain and gloom, lying on his top-right bunk, sighing. "It's no fun when you can't go outside…" he mumbled, "I wish I could make the rain go away" Vincent shrugged, "Sorry sweetie, rain doesn't follow your orders, but I'll see if I have any games for you to play" he said. He turned on his heels to leave, then remembered something. "Mark, I'm going to need you to come downstairs later 'k?" he asked. Mark nodded half-heartedly, "Yeah yeah, whatever you say Vinny", not really listening.

Vincent closed the door, and sighed. "What's the matter?" said Luna, coming from behind, dressed in a nightgown. It was currently three am in the morning, the time this particular household happen to wake up. **(A/N The reason for that is because Vincent works the night shift. He works form twelve to six, which his six hours of missed sleep. An typical adult is suppose to sleep at least eight hours a day, but Vincent isn't normal and therefore needs less sleep. To do that, their sleep schedule consists of waking up at 8 pm to 3 am, taking a quick nap from 3:30 to 7:00, then stay awake until the cycle repeats)** Vincent shrugged, "Oh nothing. Just reflecting on what I did to those poor kids…" he said sadly. Luna exhaled, part sadly, and part exasperatedly. "Vincent, you know those kids won't hold a grudge against you. They're not that sort of people" she said, nuzzling gently into him comfortingly. Vincent wrapped his hands around hers, "I know. But place yourself in their shoes. If your life was suddenly turned around by a man you didn't even know, how would you react? I don't expect them to forgive me anytime soon" Luna nodded understanding, "That's alright 'cause _I'm_ always here" she whispered. Vincent managed to smile weakly at that, "Thanks…" he said, "That means a lot" Luna smiled wanly and hugged him, "I know, I feel the same way"

"Ohmygosh, Carlisle, go away" whined Alexis, not really having the energy to protest too strongly. Carlisle shrugged, "Alexis, if you hold still, this'll be over" he said, holding moist towel in his hands. "You're face has a fatigue look, do you want that?" Alexis wiggled in his grasp, "Nooooo, I don't wanna" he complained. "Leave him alone, Carlie" said Mark distractedly. Carlisle looked over to where Mark was, sitting by the European desk, his desk drawer keys scattered carelessly over the laptop's keyboard **(A/N Some desks have drawers with locks, which happens to be what the Family has. Each drawer [Seven in total] have their own, individual keys)** "What are you doing?" he asked. Truth be told, Carlisle wasn't the slightest bit interested in what Mark was doing, but right now, anything could claim his attention. Mark shrugged, not looking back "Oh nothing, just surfing the web…" he trailed off. Carlisle moved away from Alexis and towards Mark. He looked at the screen, and made a face. "Looks like the Wiki page for Freddy's Pizzeria to me" he said, then frowned. He turned to Mark, "What are you really doing?" Mark looked to where Alexis lay before saying, in a whisper, "I'm checking for clues" Carlisle snorted in derision, "And how? Don't you think there would be at least one person in this tiny little town that would've noticed a _clue_ , as you put it, on the wikipedia page?" To his surprise, Mark shook his head, "No, because we have inside info, a confession from the infamous Purple Guy himself, what really happened, and the clues the cops missed while investigating" Carlisle whistled, "Nice" he said. Mark nodded, still not taking his eyes off the screen.

Alexis lay on the bed, thinking. Before he was set free (sort of) from his animatronic body, he had always been the leader of their little group-family. Marionette, now Mark, had always been there for him, but more of a side character. The thing is, Alexis (or Freddy) had been the main lead of their little band. But now, with everyone pretty much freed and going on with their daily lives, he felt useless. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that he was a bit jealous, except jealousness wouldn't be the right word. He was, in truth, lonely. Lonely and feeling useless. Initially, he had tried to blame Luna, for showing up that fateful day. But that didn't come off right. After all, Luna wasn't at fault. Then he had tried to blame Mark for taking over, but that wasn't right either. Mark was technically not "taking over". He was more "resuming control". After all, the role technically belonged to Mark anyways. Lastly, he tried to blame Vincent.

Vincent Afton

Vincent was the one that set off the whole chain of events, he was the only one that hurt Mark and Carlisle and everyone else. He was the reason they were all here! But that, surprisingly, didn't sound right either. Vincent, after all, wasn't the one the one that hurt them, it was Amethyst, theoretically. Sure, it might've been with Vincent's body, but the fact remains, he didn't do it. Alexis groaned and closed his eyes. All that thinking made his head hurt. "I just don't know" he mumbled, "I just don't know" Carlisle and Mark looked at him in surprise. "You alright mate?" said Mark, looking slightly concerned. Alexis shrugged, "Oh, I don't know…am I?" he said vaguely. Mark rose and floated over, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Is there something I should know about?" Alexis shook his hand from his shoulder, "There is, sort of" he said, "But, I want to run it through someone else first 'k?" Mark nodded, "Whatever you need Alex. Don't forget, we're family, and you can tell us anything" Alexis smiled tightly at that, "Thanks"

"That means a lot"

Vincent set down a compressed air can in front of Alexis. "What do want to know?" asked Vincent. Alexis stared at the can set before him. Helium, his favourite. Alexis sighed, "Tell me. Before all this happened" he gestured around the interiour of the house, as if that would clarify what he meant, "you were a father right?" Vincent looked away.

"Yes" he said, in a small voice

Alexis nodded, he had expected so. Once, he had asked Luna about Vincent's relationships, to which he heard, "Vinny isn't married, but he did adopt a kid once. His biological mother and father left him to social services because of financial strains. It was thirty years ago. Poor thing, he was a likable kid too, nice and polite. Too bad one of Vincent's sisters took him away from him. Had the kid do therapy too, erased almost all his memories" Alexis had reacted in shock to that. "Who was it?" he asked. Luna shrugged, "A sister of mine. Her name is Kate Afton. I used to support her financially, but not anymore" Alexis nodded, not sure what to say

Vincent moved to sit across him from the kitchen table. "Why do you want to know?" he asked. Alexis shrugged, "I wanted to talk to you…" he admitted. Vincent smiled gently and gestured encouragingly. Alexis shook his head, "Not you…I want to talk to Amethyst" he said, a trifle embarrassedly. Vincent exhaled, concerned. "Why?" he finally asked. Alexis turned away, "Please don't ask" he said weakly, "Just don't"

Vincent reluctantly reached for his injector **(A/N Since y'all didn't decide on the name, I made one up. It's an injector, like a syringe, except it's full of temporary viruses. PM me if you don't understand)** "Are you sure?" he asked one more time, hoping to convince him otherwise. But Alexis wouldn't budge. Vincent took a short breath, and held it. He looked away as he injected the viruses. Vincent had typophobia.

Vincent winced as the viruses took control. He could hear Amethyst's voice in his mind, louder and clearer than usual. "Don't hurt him…" he pleaded silently. The mental strain became unbearable, and he groaned in dull pain.

Then he passed out

When he woke up again, his eyes had taken on a darker hue. He stretched and chuckled "My my, what did Vincent need so badly again?" he asked, "This isn't like him, to place his precious kids in my care". Alexis gulped; Amethyst still gave him the chills.

"What do you need squirt?" he asked in contempt. Alexis gritted him teeth, then took a deep breath. "Tell me, how was it when you were a parent?" he asked bluntly. Amethyst's grin dropped onto the table immediately. "Why?" he asked suspiciously. Alexis sat uncomfortably, "Because I want to know some things only a parent could tell me" he said.

Amethyst's eyes softened ever so slightly

"A parent, eh?" he said.

"I never thought I'd hear those words again"


	20. Chapter 21

Chapter 20

Amethyst poured himself a cup of coffee. "Do you really want to know?" he asked. Alexis nodded, hesitating. Did he really want to know?

Amethyst caught the look and sighed, "Look kid, don't think I'm pitying you or something, I'm just giving you a chance to back out" Alexis nodded, "I'm ready"

Amethyst's Memories

"It was before Mark were born" said Amethyst, then before Alexis could ask the question, he added, "Yes, I knew him already, don't' think I picked him randomly as a victem" Alexis stopped the question he was about to ask.

"I met his mother while working. Back then, I and a guy named Henry were the co-owners of Freddy Fazbear's Restaurant. I took care of the financial side of things, while Henry…well Henry was Henry. He arranged the other, less important but equally exhausting details. The restaurant had all the makings of a successful place, and it was. We were making the big bucks, me and Henry that was. That was where I met all of you"

" _Vincent!" called Henry. Vincent looked to his co-manager and grinned happily. "Good morning Henry" he said politely. Henry grinned back, "Don't be so formal!" he said, "After all, Freddy Fazbear's is suppose to be a fun place, to let out all your worries!" Vincent had to smile, he did enjoy his work. Seeing the joy he and Henry made was more than enough to compensate for the underpaid work he had._

" _Oh yeah, can you deliver a few orders to those people there? They look like they haven't received their orders for a while now" said Henry, pointing to a group of women sitting by Funtime Foxy, or rather, Mangle. Vincent's smile faded slightly as he saw the dismantled animatrionic. He was the only mechanic amongst the Fazbear crew, which meant he had to fix the pile of scraps on the floor. It was going to be a long night "Sure thing" he said._

 _He scooped up their orders and headed to the group. They looked up as they saw him. "Heyyy" said a woman flirtiously, "Have you brought us our lunch? How kind~" Vincent smiled winningly at her. He was in no means a bad-looking person, and was used to people greeting him like this. "Yes, here are your orders" he said, placing six trays onto a nearby table. The woman giggled, "Thanks so much" she said, then introduced herself. "I'm Charlotte Kaye, what's yours?" "Vincent Afton, glad to be of service" he said. The others have turned by now to look at Charlotte. "Oh~ Charlotte, going straight for the prize I see…" said Alexis's mother, Valerie Alston. "Oh stop it Valerie, you know Charlotte's not the type to be teased" remarked another, Carlisle's parent, Esme Cullen. "Esme, you can be so stuck-up. Loosen up once in a while" said Bonnie and Sarah's parent, Roxanne Bloom._

 _Vincent remembered all their names, it was a habit of his. He smiled at their friendly bickering. Charlotte looked back at Vincent, and grinned. "Sorry for the trouble, but could you please bring us another pizza? Cheese please" she said. Vincent nodded, and hurried off._

" _Another cheese, medium!" he shouted into the kitchen. Charlie looked at him in horror, "Another?!" he exclaimed. Vincent grinned at him, "Hey, it wasn't my order" he said. Charlie nodded, the action almost making him drop the dough he was already holding. "Alright, gimme a sec" he said. Vincent looked approvingly at the hard-worker._

"Your parents and I became quick friends after that" said Vincent, "But the one that stood out to me was Charlotte. She wasn't like any person I had ever seen. She was brave, charming, and kind. All the characteristics one'd want for a girlfriend" Alexis's jaw dropped to the floor. "You…you were…." Amethyst grinned at his expression. "Yep, we were dating" he said shamelessly.

" _Vincent!" exclaimed Charlotte, practically hopping off the car and hugging him. Vincent let out an explosion of air, "Woah!" he said, laughing. "Thanks for the ride Esme!" she called back. Esme leaned out the window. "Lucky you, a guy like him isn't easy to find y'know" she said. Charlotte grinned at her, "Sorry, but 'es all mine" she said, holding Vincent protectively._ _Esme rolled her eyes_

"It was all fun and games, 'till someone falls in love" said Amethyst with a sigh. "We were official girl x boy by then. Charlotte made me feel…as if I was actually wanted" Alexis looked at him in confusion, "Eh?" he asked. He didn't understand what made Vincent feel unwanted in the first place. Vincent rolled his eyes, "I was adopted" he said.

"Then something happened" he countined, "An anonymous guy called me. Apparently, he had his eye on Charlotte for a while now, and wanted her. But he was too late because we already had a child. His name was Mark.

Alexis widened his eyes. "So you're saying…" Amethyst nodded, "Yes, Mark is my son. Don't interrupt"

I didn't know what to do, I was so afraid and I didn't want to let go of Charlotte, but I didn't want to place her in danger either. The anonymous person said that he and his buddies had eyes for all your parents. Unfortunately, they all had found boyfriends by then, and had already gotten married, or had their first child first. So they asked me to…to..." Amethyst didn't finish the sentence, but Alexis knew one way or the other. "So that's why…" Amethyst nodded.

" _What? I-I can't do that!" shouted Vincent over the phone. The person sighed, "Look here, if you want Charlotte, Valerie, Roxanne and Esme to live, you are going to do it" Vincent hesitated, "But if they find out…" the person cut him off, "They won't, I'll make sure of that"_

 _Vincent still hesitated, "Look man, I_ _don_ _'_ _t know who you are, but you got the wrong guy_ _. I'm just a fast-food manager. I can't do stuff like that"_

" _Well to bad"_

 _Vincent heard the person hang up. He desperately searched for his number again, but to no avail. He panicked, what was he suppose to do?_

"It was a hard decision" said Amethyst, "I…I loved Charlotte dearly, and the same went for Mark. He was so energetic, so lively. Polite too. Amethyst felt a catch in his throat. He dashed off the feeling and continued, "Which was why I choose him"

Alexis looked at him. He didn't feel hatred to Amethyst's decision, rather he felt curiosity. "Why?" he asked. Amethyst wouldn't meet his eye. "Because I knew Mark would've wanted me to make the same decision. He would've wanted Charlotte to live too"

 _Vincent paused in the car. He was outside of Freddy Fazbear's diner now, and was fidgeting uncomfortably. Did he want to go through with this?_

 _He saw Mark step out, like planned. He gathered his courage, and stepped out. Mark was totally distracted, and for a moment, Vincent paused. His knife was above Mark, and he was completely vulnerable to whatever he was about to do._

" _Forgive me…" he said as the blade descended on Mark's unprotected back._

"So you see, I didn't kill all of you for no reason, I did it to save your parents" finished Amethyst. His voice was breaking by now, and it didn't' go unnoticed by Alexis. He was still processing what he had just been told.

If what Amethyst was saying is true, and Alexis had no reason to think otherwise, then that meant everything they believed in was a lie. Vincent didn't didn't do it for pleasure, he did it to save their families. Alexis stood up.

"Time to tell the others" he said.

They told the Family everything. Well, Alexis did. Amethyst was looking away the whole time. He caught a few looks on their faces, and saw amazement.

When Alexis was done, Mark stepped up. He floated straight to Amethyst…

And embraced him

Amethyst straightened in surprise. He looked at the tiny figure around his waist in surprise. He had expected anger or at least disappointment in his choices, not this accepting act. "Thank you" sobbed Mark, "Thank you for saving my mom!" Carlisle was more composed, merely wiping away a tear. Amethyst felt something hot run down his face. He wrapped his own arms around him in return. "And I'm so sorry for putting you through that" he said in reply.

The emotionally moment lasted for a while before Mark finally broke off. He grinned lopsidedly, his eyes red from crying. "Can I call you dad?" he asked.

Amethyst nodded, "Yes, you can…"

"…son"

 **Hi! It's Me!**

 **Did you see all the Twilight references?! I know most of you h8 Twilight, but I just really like it. For people that don't know, Cullen was the last name of the main family in the book series, with Esme being Carlisle's wifu**

 **That's all I got**

 **Ciao!**


	21. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

For the next few days, the mood had been noticeably brighter. Mark was no longer hateful or suspicious of Vincent or rather Amethyst anymore. They were both his friends now, so there was no cause for animosity. Something he was glad of was the fact that the air was cleared. Maybe they could finally go on with their peaceful lives now.

It seemed like everything was finally going to be okay at last.

What a ludicrous thought

The day started off normally enough. Vincent was chewing the end of a pencil while trying to calculate his never-ending taxes, Luna was in the kitchen preparing lunch, Mark and Carlisle were on the internet surfing, Alexis was making a mess in the house. All good and fun.

And normal.

"Mark? Time for lunch!" called Luna. Mark didn't respond, and with a sigh, Luna stomped upstairs. "Mark? Didn't you hear? I said time for lunch" Mark turned in shock towards Luna. "I-I'm sorry, what was that?" he said, flustered. Luna rolled her eyes, "Mark, I know you're busy with…whatever that is, but you're a growing phantom and you need your nutrition-are you even listening?" Mark was staring at the screen again. Luna sighed exasperatedly.

"Hey Luna, what sort of person was mum like?" he asked after a while. Luna shrugged, "How am I supposed to know? I've never met her, though I was a close friend of Roxanne and Valerie. Well, not so much Valerie, she was always a bit mysterious. When you think about it, it's hard to believe that Alexis is actually Valerie's son"

Mark turned around. "How come?" he asked.

"How come I think it's weird that Alexis and Valerie are related?"

"No, how come you don't know Charlotte or Esme but do know Roxanne and Valerie?"

"Oh," said Luna, "I guess…I guess it was because Vincent and I aren't biological siblings, so we didn't live together for long before going our separate ways. I went my own way before Vincent met Charlotte, so I didn't know her, but I did know Roxanne already because she and I had the same tutor when we were in high school.

Mark nodded. He wasn't surprised that Vincent and Luna were both adopted into the Afton family. He was used to Vincent and Luna's complex relationship.

"Sooo~ What was Roxanne like?" asked Mark. Now that they were on the topic of parents, he felt like he wanted to know more about them. Luna shrugged, "Nothing much. Roxanne was the typical, outgoing sort of person. Though, now that I think about it, she could be responsible…nope nevermind, scratch that. She's just outgoing, but that was the cutest part of her. A lot of people said that she was a good influence on me…or rather Eclipse. I dunno how I became like this…" she trailed off, thinking about all the horrible things she had done as her alter ego.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. If it makes you feel any better, we were responsible for the casualties that happened at Vincent's workplace" said Mark matter-of-factly. Luna nodded, "I-I know, and I'm not being hard on myself" she hiccupped.

Mark looked at her skeptically

"Yeah, sure"

"Eh? Esme?" said Vincent. Carlisle nodded, "Yeah! What was mum like?"

Vincent put down papers he was holding. "Esme…Esme was…a lot like you" he began, "She loved sweets, peace, and the little things in life, and disliked war, lies, and spiders. She was responsible, trustworthy and hardworking, except when it came to washing the dishes" he added. Carlisle nodded.

Esme _was_ a lot like him.

"Speaking of which…" Vincent looked meaningfully at the pile of dishes in the sink. Carlisle whistled innocently before darting away.

"Nope"

Vincent sighed, looking remorsefully at the sink. He could almost feel the accusing glare of the China sitting there.

Carlisle floated upstairs. He would usually want to take the steps one-by-one, just to feel what a human felt like when walking up the stairs. But today, he just wanted to get away from the kitchen as fast as possible.

He opened the door to Mark's room.

"Hey Carli" said Mark, not turning around. He was in his room, surfing the web. A stack of papers lay messily around his desk, making it look as if he was actually doing work (like an adult). "Hey Mark" said Carlisle.

Carlisle flopped down onto a bunk, sighing.

"Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"What was Charlotte like?"

Mark made a noise of uncertainty, all the while not taking his eyes off the laptop. "Who knows? I don't remember much. It's been thirty years since I last saw her…why?" he added, curious about the seemingly random question.

Carlisle hesitated. He wasn't sure how to put it. "Y'know how Vincent said that his family, the Aftons, are all either murders or something else like that?"

A pause

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Mark.

"I was thinking…if you're really Vincent's son-ahg, I can't get used to saying that-then does that make you and Charlotte part of the Afton murders?"

Mark stopped typing. "I dunno" he finally said "I'd like to think that I'm not, but the Fazbear Entertainment records say otherwise"

Carlisle nodded, "I know what you mean" he said, "I feel the same way…sometimes"

Another pause

Then Mark said, "Do-Do you hate me, Carlisle?" stumbling over his words slightly.

Carlisle almost fell off the bed. He glanced incredulously at Mark. "Hate you? How could I hate you? _Why_ would I hate you?"

Mark shrugged, "Oh, I dunno. How about me binding your spirit to a robotic suit and forcing y'all to take revenge on a bunch of innocent people without even asking if that's what you really wanted?" he said bitterly.

Carlisle shook his head. "Honestly, you're sounding like Vincent with all your motherhening" he said. "Nah, I don't blame you, and I doubt the others do. Besides, it was fun getting a second chance to live…sort of"

Mark exhaled. The single movement had all his worries in it.

"You sure you're not just saying that to make me feel better? I'd prefer the truth" he said.

"Yikes Mark, you're sounding as if you don't think I'm telling the truth. Did something happen?" he asked.

Mark made a negative gesture, "No, no. I…Nothing happened" he said vaguely.

"Does it have something to do with Charlotte and Vincent's relationship?" he asked gently.

"…yes…"

"What is it?" he prodded

Mark shrugged. "I guess it's just a lot to take in. I mean; for my whole life, I've pictured Vincent as a heartless monster who slaughtered innocent kids just for fun. But now? Now I'm suddenly his _son_! I'm related to the one person that I've sworn to take vengeance on. I feel so lost"

Carlisle shrugged, "Don't fret on it. Vinny's not a bad guy once you think about it. He's caring, nice, responsible, a bad cook, and doesn't know how to take a day off. What more could a person ask for?"

Mark smiled wanly, "Yeah, you're right. I'm just overthinking it" he said.

"That must be it"

-Le time skip-

"Luna, I'm off to work, take care of the others for me?" asked Vincent. Luna nodded, not that she would've had a choice anyways.

Mark walked up to Vincent, his eyes asking a question. Vincent sighed, "You can come..." Mark smiled brightly "…but only if you stay in your box"

Mark's smile drooped. "No way!" he said, "I've spent half my life in that box, there's no way I'll do it again!" Vincent shrugged, "Then stay here" he said bluntly.

Mark pouted, "I'm still going" he said defiantly. Vincent shrugged, "You're going to regret it" he said.

"I regret this!" hollered Mark as he hugged the seatbelt tight as Vincent did crazy drifts on the road. Vincent grinned at him through the rev. mirrors. "Relax!" he said, "I got this!"

Mark shook his head. The way Vincent drove led him to question a few things. Mainly his sanity, but also how he was still undiscovered by the cops. Surely one of them would've pulled him over by now.

Apparently not

"Vincent! Slow down!" called Mark, raising his voice to carry over the wind, Vincent had his window down. "Sorry, not gonna happen!" he shouted back, laughing like a teenager.

Mark shook his head. Vincent was usually a trustworthy, dependable person. But what Mark liked best was his sense of responsibility. However, it was at times like this that made Mark think he made a mistake.

"That's a red lightttttt!" he yelped as Vincent drove straight past it. Vincent looked sheepish.

"Whoops"

Mark survived the rest of the journey. Barely.

But he did nonetheless arrive in one piece.

"Mark!" cried Chica as Mark floated tiredly through the frosted-glass window. Mark grinned half-heartedly at them. "'Sup" he said.

Chica ran to him, eagerly dancing about. "Soooo! How are things in the real world? It's so boring here! Did you know that today, this one kid spilled soda on us! I know! I have no idea how he got into the back room, so I was really mad when it happened. I'm not getting dried or repaired anytime soon so I hope Vinny finds my name soon 'cause…"

Chica rambled on for another few minuets. Mark pretended to listen attentively, all the while looking longingly at the limp puppet hanging out of the present-like box. Despite what he had said to Vincent, he actually missed his former-home quite a bit.

"Yeah!" he said after Chica was done, not having the slightest idea what she said. Chica grinned, "Sooooooo! What do you want to do first?" she asked. Bon-bon and I have been out at the back for so long now, so we were planning to annoy Vincent today"

Mark thought for a moment. He wanted to tell Chica about his relationship with Vincent, and that he knew who their parents were. But if he did, he was afraid Chica might grow distant from him. After all, Chica was the youngest of all the kids.

He decided against it, thinking that he'd tell her once she has her name back.

"So! Any guesses to what your name will be?" he asked as the thought popped into his mind. Chica shrugged, "Dunno" she said off-handedly.

"What would you like your name to be?" he asked. Chica shrugged, "Dunno"

"Maybe Roxanne"

Mark nearly choked on his own saliva.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" she asked, "I can choose another one. How about…Sonia, or Ibuki, or Twilight!" Mark would've scoffed at her choice of names. Really cliché.

"How about yours Bonbon?" she asked. Bonnie shrugged, his half face making it hard to see what expression he was wearing. "Dunno. Maybe something like Phillip, or maybe Nagito…"

Mark interrupted

"Nagito? Wasn't that they guy from Danganronpa; Goodbye Despair?" he asked, "You've got strange tastes"

Bonnie shrugged, "Hey, just putting out the possibilities here" he said nonchalantly.

Mark ignored that.

"Aren't you too young to be watching Danganronpa?" asked Vincent from behind. Mark started, "Eep! Vinny! Hi! Um…so…I…erm…uhh… How much did you hear?"

Vincent grinned evilly, "More than enough, you're grounded when you get home. And no computers during that time"

"Nooooooo!1! –Darth Vader" thought Mark glumly, already missing the over-bright screen he had sitting in his room.


	22. Chapter 23

"So!" what do you want to do first?" asked Chica excitedly, bouncing up and down. Mark shrugged, "Anything you want to" he said.

Vincent overheard them discussing. He sighed to himself; he wished he had time like that to ponder unnecessary things in life. He remembered that, even as a child, he had always put studying over electronics, reading over playing.

He wished he had been more outgoing.

"Vincent! We're going into Scott's office to raid his drawers. I need the key to his room!" called Mark.

"Not going to happen"

"C'mon! Please! I promise I'll put everything back later!" said Mark pleadingly. Vincent wouldn't budge, "Nice try" he said.

Unknown eyes surveyed the scene before him.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza had huge windows to let in the light. The blinds were drawn at night, but there were still cracks to peep through. He looked through and saw…

A man

And two animatronics

The person in question smiled to himself. The person dressed in a purple suit didn't seem to be particular good at defending himself and looked easy to trick. He didn't realize his mistake.

"Chica, get out of the camera" said Vincent through the P.A. Chica grinned-as much as she could with her mouth half-severed and stared stubbornly into the camera. Vincent flipped to another camera, only to find Bonnie's laser eyes looking back. "Bonnie, get out of the way" he sighed.

Bonnie grinned

Vincent switched over to another camera. It was the one for Kid's Cove. He was sure no one would be there since…

"Mark!" he growled. Mark burst into a fit of hysterics, laughing uncontrollably. He had set this up with the others when Vincent refused to give him the key.

"Hahahahahaahahahaaaaa!" he laughed. If he could still cry, tears would've been rolling down his face "You're so gullible" he said.

Vincent sighed, "Honestly Mark, you're so immature" he said, shooing him off the camera. Mark hopped off. "Sheesh, can't take a joke" he mumbled to himself, walking away.

Vincent watched him leave, and sighed. He leaned back into his chair, feeling the bolted chair creak under his weigh. A stray thought popped into his mind. Names.

More specifically, Bonnie's name.

He wanted to get his name back as soon as possible. He didn't want Bonnie to stay in the pizzeria anymore. He wanted to have Bonnie be free along with Chica. But what was his name..?

Vincent shook his head to clear his thoughts. Roxanne introduced them once, what was his name again..?

Was it…

Kelline

Kara

K…

K-something.

That was all Vincent knew. He remembered Roxanne calling her kids the "S&K" He didn't know why though. Roxanne always had a weird perk to her.

Well, no matter. Vincent checked his phone and saw that his shift was almost over. Sighing to himself, he decided to go home early today. "Surely Scott wouldn't mind" he told himself as he gathered his stuff and headed out.

"Mark!" called Vincent, "Get into the car, we're going home" Mark sighed. He was just beginning to have fun with Chica and Bonbon too. "Coming!" he called, waving a quick good-bye to them.

"You're back!" exclaimed Luna. Vincent mentally rolled his eyes. "Apparently" he mumbled. Mark walked up the stairs to greet Luna.

 _Normal days don_ _'_ _t last_

"Vincent, can you open the door?" asked Luna, "I'm cooking right now"

Vincent sighed. Growing up as a solitary kid with no friends, he wasn't what one may call "Sociable" So opening the door for him is like telling a child to do his homework.

"Yeah, sure" he said.

Guess who was at the door?

Ryan Komaeda

"R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-" Vincent stuttered for another half minuet. Ryan laughed. "'sup Vinny, miss me?" he asked sarcastically.

 _Introduction; This is Ryan Komaeda. He was the guy that forced Vincent to eliminate the kids in order for him to get Charlotte and the others. The reason for this is because-by having the kids out of the way-he is sort of severing the connection between the husbands and wives. He could spin a story about how each person's respective partner did something to harm the kids, resulting in a devoice._

Vincent backed him into a wall, eyes wide with fear. "What are you doing here?!" he hissed. Ryan shrugged, "Just popping by for a friendly chat. Is that so much to ask for?" he asked. Vincent was beyond furious. "Look Ryan, I'm not doing your dirty work anymore. You've got your girl, now leave me alone!" he said, guessing the reason for his arrival.

Ryan let out a noise of uncertainty. "That's the thing…" he said vaguely.

Vincent gestured for him to continue.

Ryan grinned

There was something in the smile.

Vincent grappled with this throat. He was normally a tame person, but seeing Ryan like that tipped him off.

"Get out before I do something regrettable" he warned. Ryan laughed, "Regrettable? You didn't seem to regret ruining the innocent lives of six sad children, did you?" he asked, laughing "Nice handiwork by the way, I haven't seen a cop find out who was the culprit! Ha!"

Vincent growled at him, "Shut up" he said.

Ryan smirked, "Such hostility for me already! Whatever did I do?" he asked sweetly.

Vincent leaned close to his face. "You did so much more than I ever did. If I was you, I would stay away and never come back…" he snarled.

Ryan shrugged, "Guess that's the reason I'm not you" he said, not at all fazed by Vincent's anger.

"Look, I'm not here to strike another deal with you, I'm just here to tell you something" he said. Vincent narrowed his eyes at him, "What are you playing at?" he asked suspiciously.

Ryan looked away, "Oh, nothing important. Just the fact that if you don't give your phone number to the cops, I'll kill Charlotte" he said breezily.

"What?!" shouted Vincent, almost losing his grip on Ryan. Ryan smiled innocently. "I mayyyy have messed up" he said, "One of my buddies accidentally tipped off the cops. They're now sniffing around, in case what 'ee said was just a rumour. But just to be safe…" he left the sentence hanging.

Vincent shook his head, "You idiot…" he said under his breath, "You absolute, complete idiot"

Ryan placed his hands over his heart dramatically, "I'm hurt" he said, laughing. "Do you really think so little of me?"

"Apparently. Since you let something like this happen!" Vincent's voice rose at the end, gaining intensity. "How did this happen anyways?"

Ryan scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassedly. "Yeahhhh, about that…" he said, drawing out the word, "I mayyy have took my friends out for dinner and they mayyy have partied a litttttle to hard and mayyy have accidentally said some things they weren't suppose to" he said slowly.

Vincent sighed and let go. "So you want me to get the cops off your back by giving them my phone number" he said resignedly. Ryan smiled brightly-fauxly. "Yep!" he said happily, "You understand right?"

Vincent looked sadly at his family, who were completely unaware of what was going on. "If I do, I'll be arrested. What you're asking of me is basically a confession" he said, his tone emotionless. Ryan shrugged, "Your problem, not mine" he brushed off.

Vincent shook his head defeated. Once again, Ryan had backed him into a corner, just like so many years ago. "Ryan…" he began, trying to convince him, "I have a family now, can't you find someone else?"

Ryan shook his head stolidly, "Nope! Can't have anyone else do it. You're the only one that'll keep your mouth shut" he said airily.

Vincent didn't even know why he bothered trying.

"When?" he asked.

 **Ekkk! So many Danganronpa references! I feel so bad**


	23. Chapter 24

12:00 p.m.

A person darted around on Vincent's property.

He wore a ski mask over his head, and had a small blade hidden in the cuff of his sleeve.

Yep, he was a thief

He looked around the house, and found a way in. It was through Mark's room window. That day, Vincent had left it open to let in some fresh air. Apparently, he forgot to close it.

The man smiled, it was perfect. He climbed up a tree near the window and leapt in. There wasn't anyone in there, which was a relief.

Outside, he heard voices.

"Mark! The wifi's down" called Vincent. "A man" thought the intruder.

"What, again?" asked a young, male voice from outside. "A boy" he thought

"Yes, again. Tell Carlisle and Luna would you? I'm doing some work right now. Oh, and can you get me a refill on my Injector?" replied Vincent.

Mark sighed, "Yeah whateves" he said.

The intruder heard footsteps going up the stairs. He saw the door beginning to open, and quickly ducked under a bed.

"Where is it?" asked Mark aloud to himself as he opened a desk drawer.

The intruder's eyes widened. Why was this boy dressed like this? What he saw was a boy dressed in a black and white dress, painted face, lipstick and strapless shoes. It seemed weird.

Mark's jet-black hair whistled. He sighed as he closed the drawer, "I can't find it!" he called.

A reply

"Doesn't matter, I'll see if I can find it. Go tell Carlisle and Luna" said Vincent

Mark skipped out the door.

The intruder huffed and came out of his hiding spot. He looked around for valuables.

Literally nothing worth taking

The intruder huffed angrily; it would seem as if he drew a blank.

Well, whatever

He snuck to the door, pressing his ears against it before opening it.

He could see people downstairs. One adult, one teen (he was referencing Luna) and six kids.

Wait, six kids?

The more the intruder looked, the more transparent the kids looked. He shook his head, that wasn't possible. Though, on second inspection, he saw that the kids were indeed, transparent.

He hurriedly darted away, going into Vincent's room. But the sight of the ghostly kids made him stumble on something and he tripped down the stairs.

Vincent turned around, and saw the person. His defensive instincts kicked in and he crouched down, hand automatically reaching for his Injector.

Luna saw it too, and gasped. She stepped back, and similarily fingered her Injector.

They were prepared to spring at a moment's notice.

The intruder stood up, and waved his flickblade uncertainly. "S-Stay back! He shouted, "I-I-I have a knife!"

That was the end of Vincent and Luna's patience. They simultaneously stabbed the syringe into themselves and fell.

Anticipation was thick in the air. The intruder looked perplexed, whilst Carlisle and Mark stood in front of the others in case something went wrong.

Amethyst and Eclipse woke up okay enough. Amethyst grinned derangedly at him while Eclipse looked bored, examining her nails. "Amethyst, was it you this time?" she asked. Amethyst sighed and shook his head, "No, not me" he said.

They both turned to the person-in-question with menace in their eyes. "You've picked the wrong house to rob" they chorused.

Mark stepped forward, planning to lend a hand. Carlisle stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Mark turned, shocked, to look at him. Carlisle shook his head.

It didn't even last three seconds. Amethyst stepped close, and pivoted on his right heel, thrusting his elbow in to his face. The intruder staggered back, a trickle of blood running down. Eclipse darted behind him and kicked his legs from under him.

The sequence was nice and clean. Eclipse sat on the to-be thief happily. Amethyst sighed and looked at Mark. "Mark, how did this happen?" he asked sternly. Mark shook his head enthusiastically, "I don't know! It wasn't me!" he said.

"Since when did you care about these brats?" asked Eclipse, looking disdainfully at the ghost kids. Alexis blew a raspberry at him.

Amethyst huffed at her, "Don't give me that" he said, "I can think whatever I want" Eclipse sighed at him, "Why are you such a child?" she asked, "You honestly can't think that you can trust these kids do you?" Amethyst shook his head, "Shut up" he said.

Eclipse puckered her lips, "If you prefer. But think this through, what are the odds that the kids will betray you? You know this, don't you? Don't forget, you were the reason they're like this, you're the reason Roxanne, Esme and the others lost their kids" she cooed.

Amethyst hesitated. He looked back to where Mark stood, his gaze apprehensive. "Amethyst?" Mark said, "I want to believe that you're a good person" Eclipse glared at him, "shut up brat" she said, "Amethyst doesn't love, or even remotely like you. Why get your hopes up?"

Eclipse waltzed over, forgetting the intruder. She placed an arm over his shoulder. "Am-e-thy-st~" she singsoned, "Tick tock~"

Amethyst stood indecisive.

It was a mistake.

The intruder, sensing that they both were distracted, lunged forward with a cry. He quickly stabbed Eclipse before running out the door, yelling in fright.

Eclipse stared in disbelief at the knife in her back. Her legs buckled and she slowly fell forward. Amethyst caught her, frantic. "Oi! Eclipse! Wake up!"

Eclipse looked at him, her eyes dull. "Amethyst, you're going to regret it…" she spat before falling unconscious.

Amethyst looked at Eclipse's wound. Most people would've pulled out the knife immediately, but Amethyst knew that doing so would cause the blood to pour out uncontrollably. Instead, he kept it there, carrying her upstairs to get her medical attention.

"Pull out the knife, stench the wound, dress it, and bandage it…" he chanted to himself as he searched for the proper things in his washroom.

"Is she okay?" asked Carlisle, running up to Amethyst. Amethyst shook his head, "Not for long" he replied briefly.

"Get the bandages Carlisle" said Mark, "And go right now"

Carlisle nodded and bolted away. Mark turned to another direction to get whatever else Vincent may need.

Thanks to their efficient work, Amethyst was done in less than three minuets. He carefully laid Eclipse, or rather, Luna down onto his bed. A feeling of nostalgia struck him.

Mark looked over his shoulder, apprehensive. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked rhetorically. Amethyst shook his head, "No" he said simply.

Mark turned to Carlisle, who was listening with interest. He shook his head silently, and walked out. Carlisle shrugged; he was good at accepting things.

Alexis waited outside. It was time like these that made him want to feel included, but that was beside the point. There was only so much he can do, and he might as well as have gotten in the way if he tried to help.

He felt tears in his eyes, and he stiffened in confusion. Why was he crying? There was nothing to be sad about. They knew what they were doing, and they knew that they didn't need him. He dashed them away and walked off, stance stiffer than before.

Amethyst didn't change back to Vincent that night. He wanted to stay by Luna's side for a little longer. This feeing confused Amethyst. To him, Luna was a stranger, and technically, Eclipse was his real sister. So why was he so worried? He didn't know anymore. In fact, he hardly knew anything anymore. Never in his life had he felt so lost.

It confused, and scared him. He was the legendary Amethyst for crying out loud! The one who had escaped the cops, who had mercilessly slaughtered innocent kids two times, and had gotten away with it. He was the one that had become a legend to go down in the history of Fazbear Entertainment! So why?

Amethyst pulled up a chair, and sat beside Luna, hands crossed. He looked at her sleeping figure, and imagined her eyes opening. Well, not her eyes specifically. He wanted to see Eclipse's eyes open, and wanted to see the innocence that she once had, before everything went so, so wrong.

He cupped his hand over his eyes. Why was he feeling so nostalgic? Is it because he was getting paranoid? Is it because he was worried about Eclipse, rather than Luna? Is it because he knew that his promise to Ryan would separate him from his family?

Family.

The title had a strange tone to him. He had forgotten when he had come to regard Mark and Carlisle and Alexis as his family. He already had a family, the Afton family.

Was it fair, for him to find another, when he already had one?

He asked himself that, and thought for a moment. He decided that there was no answer to that.

Mark peeped in from the cracks of the door. He saw everything, but could only guess what he was thinking.

"Mark, c'mon. I'm tired; it's already 3:30. Everyone's sleeping" said a tired Carlisle, coming up from behind. Mark looked in surprise, "Oh, sorry Carlisle" he said, "I…I just…"

Carlisle sighed, "Look, you really don't have to worry about things like this. Amethyst knows what he's doing" Mark nodded, "I know that he knows what he's doing, but that still doesn't stop me from worrying" he said.

Carlisle placed a hand on his shoulder and turned the ghostly puppet to face himself. "Mark, I know it's tough to watch, but you have to be stronger than this. We've endured way worse than this" Mark nodded, "I know, but…" he shook his head, "No, you're right. Let's go"

Carlisle nodded, smiling quietly to himself.

 **Hi! It's Me!**

 **Alright! Another few chapters and I'm going to wrap this up.**

 **That's all I got; Ciao!**


	24. Chapter 25

_Mark, tell me. Do you know who I am?_

Mark was dreaming, he answered. "No. But you sound so familiar"

 _That_ _'_ _s to be expected. I_ _'_ _m Mark too._

"I know. I've seen you before. You're the darker Mark. The one that wants vengeance"

 _That_ _'_ _s right. Want a prize? Here it is._ _I'_ _m Manipulation Mark. And I want revenge._

"Well...I'm not you. Go and take your vengeance elsewhere"

 _If I could, I would_ _'_ _ve a long, long time ago. But I can_ _'_ _t. One body, two minds._

"Mhm. That's nice. Now, why don't you get out of my dream?"

 _-Laugh- Y_ _'_ _know, you_ _'_ _re really calm for someone that can_ _'_ _t even control themselves as soon as they hear A_ _r_ _t of Manipulat-_

"Not that dumb. Don't say it. Look, I know you're upset about how…Vincent…did all of this, but it's not like he got off scot-free either. Just look at the scars…springlocked"

 _Mark, don_ _'_ _t you care?! It_ _'_ _s not just you. The twins, Carlisle, Alexis, Charlotte! Vincent couldn_ _'_ _t_ _project_ _zip in the_ _end_ _and he can_ _'_ _t protect you. He let his own sister,_ _his_ _own_ _ **biological**_ _sister become a_ _manifestation_ _of who she was_ _..._

"There's nothing to say. If you wanted vengeance so badly, there you go. Springlocks hurt a lot more than they look y'know. Call it even"

 _Never_

*Fnaf!*

Mark woke up. He didn't know why he was so calm about the situation, but he was. "Must run in the family" he thought sourly. He stood up and walked out the door, not caring if he woke anyone up, not that he could anyways. In fact, he couldn't make any sound even if he wanted to.

By the time he was downstairs, Amethyst was already reading a newspaper, glancing it over and sighing. "No one's ever going to find out" he thought to himself, not aware that he had spoken aloud. "Who's not going to find out?" asked Mark. Amethyst didn't seem to be surprised by his sudden appearance. He slapped the newspaper with the back of his hand, "Look at this! 'Mysterious person from Fazbear Entertainment Sister Locations Believed to be Hiding Out in Abandoned Warehouse'" Mark snickered. "Still talking about it? I'm kinda surprised" he said. Amethyst shrugged, "Small town, nothing much ever happens" he said, flipping over the newspaper to see if there was something more interesting. Mark hopped on and looked, then made a face. "Eugh, grown-uppy stuff" he said. Amethyst gave him a side-glance, "You're like…thirty-five by now. That would make you a grown-up too" Mark scrunched up his face, "No it doesn't. Ghosts don't age. Those horror movies you watch aren't nearly as educational as some of the stuff you see on Treehouse" Amethyst looked at him oddly, and Mark waved his hand.

Amethyst put his newspaper down onto the kitchen table and turned his chair so he was facing directly towards Mark. "Tell me something else" he said, more interested in what Mark had to say than what was on the black-and-white printed paper. Mark shrugged uncertainly, "What do you want to know?" he asked.

"What's your p.o.v. of the world?"

"Well…I don't have to blink-"

"How does that work?"

Because I can't see anything except for white and shades of grey. I can choose to see other colors, of course, but my animatronic eyes aren't used to them, so I don't bother"

"What is it like, fazing through walls?"

"Normal. It's like walking, except through things"

"What does it feel like when you hold an object?"

"I don't know. It feels very draining though, so I don't usually do it too often"

"Draining?"

"Y'know, like a power meter. Once that meter reaches zero, or somewhere close to that, we basically shut off until we get enough energy back to function. You should know this, you're practically a robot"

"Is not, there are subtle differences"

"Like what?"

"For example, in addition to charging myself with household electricity, I can still ingest and take in nutrition the same as anyone else. I also still have cone and rod cells in my eye despite them being artificial. Also, my eyes have lenses that adjust like a normal person's instead of moving forward and backwards like one in…say a camera. But we weren't talking about me"

"Oh yeah…so anyways. I can't do a lot of things. Just hover around really. Kind of like a balloon"

Amethyst found himself listening to Mark intently. Mark also found himself talking to Amethyst without any thought of secrecy. It was only when Alexis woke up when he realized time passes fast. "Well, I better get going now" said Amethyst, glancing at the clock. Mark shrugged and left.

Then Alexis came and sat across from him. "Amethyst, there are a few questions I want answered" he said. Amethyst looked at him oddly, "Hah?" he asked, but Alexis didn't' care. "Tell me, I've been with animatronics long enough now to know that your metal parts can't all be covered up"

Amethyst shrugged, "No, they can't" he said. Alexis reached out, grabbed an arm, and drew a knife. Amethyst was about to object, but before he could, Alexis drew a long, swift cut on it. There wasn't any blood, but metal. Amethyst turned a few shades of red, slightly embarrassed. "A robot's never comfortable showing so much endo" he complained. Alexis snorted.

Then Alexis left.

And Carlisle bombarded Amethyst with questions.

This lasted a while, until eventually Amethyst shooed all of them away with irritation. They ran back into their room, locked the door and then started to murmur something. Amethyst looked at them, then shook his head in exasperation, "Kids" he thought, "So weird" he wondered if he himself was ever that weird.

Then he thought of Luna.

"Probably" he said.

*Fnaf*

"So here's the plan. After we launch the confetti, we jump out and…" Alexis shook his head, "Nah, that'll never work. How are we supposed to find hiding spots in the kitchen? Unless we squeeze in next to the pans" he said. They were holding a kid-conference of sorts, with one of those long tables that you see on TV. "Then change the setting, I don't care. Anyways, about those balloons, we can get the helium from the attic, Amethyst'll never notice. And we'll replace the cans with…the ones that Mark ate last week" said Carlisle. Mark turned a few shades pink. He had a soft spot for the gaseous substance. "Objection, where are we going to find balloons?" asked Alexis, not knowing how to use the phrase 'objection'. Carlisle shushed him, "No one cares, we'll…use the ones from the pizzeria. Bonnie had a whole cache of them" he said. "Now, onto the…"

They sat and planned for a good hour, planning and overall talking about things that they couldn't do. Why you may ask? Because they were bored. And when ghosts were bored…this is what happens.

Meanwhile, Amethyst busied himself with chores, thinking about how it might've been a mistake to say yes to Mark on the very first day when they met. He smiled fondly at the memory, it had seemed like such a long time ago, but it had really only been a little under a month. In fact, the past month had been kind of a mess, now that he thought about it. There was the stuff about Luna, then the names, not to mention the whole we-have-dark-sides-to-ourselves thing. All points taken in, the kids were taking it all in with a surprising amount of calm. "Then again, they have been through a lot worse" he thought.

He smiled. Well, whatever happened in the past was behind them now. It was time for a fresh start, and it…Amethyst's smile dropped when he thought about a fresh start. There was still Ryan and his group of run-aways. What to do? Ryan, despite his teenager-ly appearances was actually very dangerous. They used to be partners in their younger days, but…they were never friends.

Flashback

1977 August 11th

"Yo Amy, go in and see if there's anyone inside" said Ryan. Amethyst looked at his blond-haired companion with something close to distain. "Look inside? What am I suppose to do if there's someone inside then? Say I'm the cleaning boy?" Ryan narrowed his eyes at Amethyst, "Boy, don't talk to me like that. Don't forget, the only reason you're alive is because of Charlotte. One wrong move and I'll…" Amethyst cut him off, "There's nothing you can do Ryan. I'm not some random dude off the streets; I've had my fill of cops and stuff. And stop calling me boy" he added the last part with a little bit of heat. Ryan grunted.

"Now!" whispered Ryan. Amethyst didn't need any signal, taking off at lighting speed towards the diamond. Robbing a museum wasn't the best idea, but they've hit a roadblock a while ago and couldn't afford to rely on legal methods. "Really makes you question the employment system" thought Amethyst absentmindedly. He leapt up, and grabbed the diamond, still shining dully under the theatrical moonlight. "This is heavier than expected" he thought, thought he didn't really care. Ryan would care thought.

"Nice work" said Ryan as Amethyst shadowed his way back towards him. Amethyst didn't care, he just wanted his paycheck. He wasn't going to get a personal cut from the price of the diamond, but he would get enough to sustain him for a few months.

"You know, I've been thinking…" said Ryan. Amethyst snapped his head towards Ryan at the mention of that. It was never good news when he started a sentence like that. "What?" he asked. Ryan pretended to think, "We've been partners for a while now, but I can't help but think. Why are we partners? The answer to that was simple, we weren't. Admit it Amy, you don't like me. So I was thinking of cutting you loose"

Amethyst lunged at him, but Ryan was fast. He avoided the lunge easily, but in doing so tripped the alarm.

Then everything happened very fast.

The museum was close to the police station, and soon there were people surrounding the building. Amethyst silently facepalmed. Such an elementary mistake. Ryan frowned, and then shrugged. Then he shoved Amethyst onto the floor, "Nothing personal" he said before taking off. They were above the floor, planning an escape from the roof, so Amethyst fell for a few seconds before landing on top of a display. Glass shattered, and then…black.

He was vaguely aware of people bursting into the room, but he couldn't care anymore. Life as he knew it was going to be here no longer…

End of Flashback

Amethyst sighed as he recalled those days. They seemed so far away now, like millenniums. In truth, it had only been a few decades. Then there was the '87 incident, then Fazbear's Fright, then…this.

Amethyst was surprised that Jeremy survived the incident, or was it someone else that got bit? He couldn't remember. But now, just when things were starting to calm down, Ryan popped up again. Why was it always Ryan?

Amethyst decided. No, he couldn't do it. There was no way he'd leave his family again, not when he just found them again. He could tough this out, the final hurdle.

Maybe he should tell Mark.

Mark would understand, he was sure of it.

Deciding on this, he went to his room.

*Fnaf!*

"So, if there's all that's left, we can start right?" asked Mark. Carlisle nodded, "Sure"

 _Mark, Art of Manipulation_

There was no warning. The voice inside of Mark had just sprung up, out of nowhere. Alexis was the first to notice. He shouted a warning, and everyone backed off. Mark's irises started to disappear, replaced by a single white dot. His attire changed too, from alternating black-and-white into dark patches with white sprinkled haphazardly. "Mark, get a hold of yourself" said Carlisle, but Mark wasn't there anymore.

" _Hey guys! I_ _'_ _m finally meeting all of you! My name_ _'_ _s Mark_ _"_ _he said._


End file.
